Evaluating the factors influencing the formation of Dilthey's hermeneutic theory

Document Type : Scientific-research

Authors

1 Master in Philosophy of Religion, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

2 Department of Philosophy of Religion, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

This article examines, using a descriptive–analytical method, the influence of German Romanticism, Hegelianism, historicism, and a critical approach to Kant’s philosophy on the formation of Dilthey’s hermeneutic theory. It shows that Dilthey borrowed from Romanticism an attention to the non‑rational dimensions of human life such as imagination and feeling; however, unlike the Romantics, he sought to develop a structured epistemological system for the human sciences. He also adopted from historicism the importance of historical contextuality, yet opposed relativism. Ultimately, through a critique of Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason, Dilthey grounded his epistemology on a “critique of historical reason,” arguing that the categories of human understanding are not a priori but arise from lived and historically conditioned experience. Dilthey likewise regarded “lived experience” as the foundation of knowledge in the human sciences and, drawing on Hegel, employed the concept of “objective spirit” to explain intersubjective understanding. By evaluating the impact of each of these intellectual currents on the development of Dilthey’s hermeneutic theory, it can be concluded that the “critique and reinterpretation of Kant’s critical philosophy,” in relation to the other historical currents discussed, played the most significant role in shaping this theory.

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References

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