Books

Dilthey: Selected Writings

Rebecca Hansen reviews a book of selected translations from Wilhelm Dilthey.

October 2011 marked the 100th anniversary of German philosopher Wilhelm Dilthey’s death. While Dilthey (1833-1911) has not enjoyed the same following in Anglo-Saxon scholarship as other German philosophers (Kant, Husserl, and Heidegger, to name a few), he was an important thinker in his time, and remains a central figure in philosophy of life and philosophy of culture. Dilthey’s lack of recognition in English-speaking countries could be attributed to two causes:

(1) Historically, Dilthey is situated right before Husserl and Heidegger, whose rise to fame quickly overshadowed Dilthey’s philosophical contributions; and

(2) In terms of accessibility, the great majority of Dilthey’s writings were not available in English.

However, the second reason is quickly being remedied as interest in Dilthey grows. Currently, there are five volumes of translations published by Princeton (Dilthey Selected Works) with more on the way; and Cambridge has reissued Professor H.

…