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Wilhelm Dilthey

Epistemology

Wilhelm Dilthey (1833 to 1911) was a German philosopher best known for the way he distinguished between the natural and the human sciences. He defined the human sciences broadly, to include both the humanities and the social sciences, and held that where the natural sciences aim at law-based causal explanations, the human sciences aim at understanding the organizational structures and dynamic forces of human and historical life. His project was to expand Kant's Critique of Pure Reason into a Critique of Historical Reason that could do justice to the social and cultural dimensions of human experience. Born in Biebrich on the Rhine, he took his first professorship at Basel in 1867 and later held in Berlin the chair that Hegel had once occupied. His reflections on the human sciences, historical contextualization and hermeneutics influenced later thinkers such as Husserl, Heidegger, Cassirer, Gadamer and Ricoeur.

Facts
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Gender
Male 1
Tradition Family
Western 1
Role in Life
Academic 1
Birth Year
1833 2
Death Year
1911 1
Connections

Associated With

Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Wilhelm Dilthey

In Branch

Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Wilhelm Dilthey

In Tradition

Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Wilhelm Dilthey

Influenced By

Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Wilhelm Dilthey
Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Wilhelm Dilthey
In the Other Atlases

Nationality

Also in History Atlas: the nationality of this subject.

Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Wilhelm DiltheyLead, German philosopher
Quote, Lead, German philosopher
Wilhelm Dilthey was a German philosopher who lived from 1833-1911.

Originated In

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.

Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Wilhelm DiltheyLife and Thought, birth
Quote, Life and Thought, birth
Wilhelm Dilthey was born in Biebrich on the Rhine in 1833
Sources
1. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Wilhelm Dilthey
  • Lead, life years
    Wilhelm Dilthey was a German philosopher who lived from 1833-1911.
  • Lead, death year
    Wilhelm Dilthey was a German philosopher who lived from 1833-1911.
  • Lead, pronoun
    He defined the human sciences broadly to include both the humanities and the social sciences.
  • Lead, German philosopher
    Wilhelm Dilthey was a German philosopher who lived from 1833-1911.
  • Life and Thought, professorship
    These goals, as formulated in the inaugural lecture that Dilthey gave in 1867 on assuming his first professorship in Basel
  • In Branch: Epistemology, Lead, Critique of Historical Reason
    Dilthey's aim was to expand Kant's primarily nature-oriented Critique of Pure Reason into a Critique of Historical Reason
  • Associated With: Hermeneutics, Lead, hermeneutics
    Dilthey's reflections on the human sciences, historical contextualization, and hermeneutics influenced many subsequent thinkers
  • Influenced By: Immanuel Kant, Lead, Kant
    Dilthey's aim was to expand Kant's primarily nature-oriented Critique of Pure Reason into a Critique of Historical Reason
  • Influenced By: Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Life and Thought, Hegel
    He admired Hegel's recognition of the historical dimension of philosophical thought
  • In Group: Continental And Phenomenological Epistemology, Lead, later influence
    influenced many subsequent thinkers such as Husserl, Heidegger, Cassirer, Gadamer and Ricoeur
  • In Tradition: Hermeneutics, Lead, hermeneutics
    Dilthey's reflections on the human sciences, historical contextualization, and hermeneutics influenced many subsequent thinkers
View the Source
2. 1001 Philosophers: Wilhelm Dilthey (1001 Philosophers)
1001 PhilosophersHeader summary, life years
Quote, Header summary, life years
Wilhelm Dilthey (1833 - 1911) was a German philosopher of the Modern era
View the Source
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