Wilhelm Dilthey Books

This is the second volume in a six-volume translation of the major writings of Wilhelm Dilthey (1833-1911), a philosopher and historian of culture who continues to have a significant influence on Continental philosophy and a broad range of scholarly disciplines. In addition to his landmark works on the theories of history and the human sciences, Dilthey made important contributions to hermeneutics, phenomenology, aesthetics, psychology, and the methodology of the social sciences. This volume presents Dilthey's main theoretical works from the 1890s, the period between the Introduction to the Human Sciences and The Formation of the Historical World. A common thread of the writings included here is an interest in the relation between the self and the world. In "The Origin of Our Belief in the Reality of the External World and Its Justification," Dilthey argues that our engagement with the world is rooted in our practical drives and the resistance they meet. The basic nexus of our beliefs about reality is volitional rather than representational. The next essay, "Life and Cognition," examines the main categories with which we organize our experience of life into an understanding of the human world: selfsameness; doing and undergoing; and essentiality. These categorial relations are further articulated with the aid of Dilthey's structural psychology in ways that rival some of the insights of phenomenology. This occurs in "The Ideas for a Descriptive and Analytic Psychology." By focusing on how lived experience places everything in a temporal continuum that can be described and analyzed, Dilthey saw the opportunity to establish a structural psychology that could be of great use to the human sciences in general. In the final essay, "Contributions to the Study of Individuality," Dilthey attacks Windelband's thesis that the human sciences are idiographic. Many human sciences have systematic and structural aims that combine the study of uniformities with the examination of individuation. Applying the comparative method, Dilthey argues that living beings share many basic similarities within which typical variations tend to recur. For human individuation, however, the specification of the historical nexus is also essential.-- Provided by publisher

This book completes a landmark six-volume translation of the major writings of Wilhelm Dilthey (1833-1911), a philosopher and historian of culture who continues to have a significant influence on philosophy, hermeneutics, and the theory of the human sciences. These volumes make available to English readers texts that represent the full range of Dilthey's work.-- Provided by publisher

Dilthey's work presents a profound exploration of historical understanding through a refined critique of historical reason. It opens with three foundational studies that adapt Husserlian ideas to articulate the essential structures of consciousness. This volume highlights Dilthey's mature philosophical insights, emphasizing the interplay between human experience and historical interpretation.

"Introduction to the Human Sciences carries forward a projected six-volume translation series of the major writings of Wilhelm Dilthey (1833-1911)--a philosopher and historian of culture who has had a strong and continuing influence on twentieth-century Continental philosophy as well as a broad range of other scholarly disciplines. In addition to his landmark works on the theories of history and the human sciences, Dilthey made important contributions to hermeneutics and phenomenology, aesthetics, psychology, and the methodology of the social sciences. The Selected Works will make accessible to English-speaking readers the full range of Dilthey's thought, including some historical essays and literary criticism. The series provides translations of complete texts, together with editorial notes, and contains manuscript materials that are currently being published for the first time in Germany. This volume brings together the various parts of the Introduction to the Human Sciences published separately in the German edition. Rudolf Makkreel and Frithjof Rodi have underscored the systematic character of Dilthey's theory of the human sciences by translating the bulk of Dilthey's first volume (published in 1883) and his important drafts for the never-completed second volume"--Publisher description

Focusing on hermeneutics, this volume presents three significant works by Wilhelm Dilthey, highlighting his influence on Continental philosophy. It includes his 1860 prize essay, a lecture-based exploration from 1867-68, and a historical overview from 1900 tracing hermeneutics back to Hellenistic Greece. Additionally, the book features previously untranslated addenda where Dilthey discusses philosophical challenges in hermeneutics and envisions a synthesis of understanding and explanation, showcasing his pivotal role in shaping interpretive philosophy.

The fifth volume in a comprehensive six-volume translation showcases the significant contributions of Wilhelm Dilthey, a pivotal figure in philosophy and cultural history. Renowned for his influential theories on history and the human sciences, Dilthey's work extends into hermeneutics, phenomenology, aesthetics, psychology, and social science methodology. His writings continue to shape twentieth-century Continental philosophy and various academic fields, reflecting his lasting impact on intellectual discourse.

Wilhelm Dilthey (1833-1911), the great German humanist, remained a towering figure in Europe long into the twentieth century. Published in 1954, this translation by Stephen Emery and William Emery was the first English translation of Dilthey's Das Wesen der Philosophie (1907) and his first work to be translated completely into English.

Offers Dilthey's mature and best formulation of his "Critique of Historical Reason". This volume deals with three "Studies Toward the Foundation of the Human Sciences," in which Dilthey refashions Husserlian concepts to describe the basic structures of consciousness relevant to historical understanding.