Wilhelm Dilthey

Paper Summary:

This paper studies the 19th century book "Einleitung in die Geisteswissenschaften" by Wilhelm Dilthey. The book establishes human sciences as field independent from natural sciences. The paper summarizes the book's assertions and findings, beginning with a discussion of how Dilthey divides the human mind into its interaction with the outer world and its external natural processes. The paper concludes with the author's personal evaluation of Dilthey's work.

From the Paper:

"Dilthey defines Geisteswissenschaften (roughly translated into English as "Human Sciences"), as the study of the individuals, groups, and forces ruling society. His basic presumption is that a man overwhelmed with specialized knowledge is simply "a serviceable tool of society" and not a "co-agent in its formation" and therefore man strives to understand and comprehend the world around him. An indication of Human Sciences' independence is the sovereignty that man finds in his will. That sovereignty implies the freedom of his human spirit opposed to the causality of human nature, and therefore signifies that the human spirit cannot be subjected to laws of the latter."

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