Wilhelm Dilthey
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Wilhelm Dilthey (November 19, 1833 - October 1, 1911) was a German student of Hermeneutics, the study of interpretations and meanings, and a philosopher. He was inspired by Friedrich Schleiermacher who were both a part of the German Romanticism movement, and he could be considered an empiricist. In the school of hermeneutics they stressed that a Cartesian subject, combined with cultural and historical context could bring about true understanding of a text. He was very interested in sociology although he strongly objected being labelled a sociologist. He also applied a label to the process of inquiry Schleiermacher had founded, naming it the Hermeneutic circle.
Distinction between sciences
He also strongly rejected using a model formed from the Naturwissenschaft ("Natural sciences") (in regard to hermeneutics) and instead proposed developing a separate model for the Geisteswissenschaften, the "human sciences" of philosophy, psychology, history, philology, etc... His argument centered around the idea that in the natural sciences, we seek an explanation, a description of the concept; whereas in the human sciences, we seek to understand. His principles, he asserted, could be applied to all manner of interpretation ranging from ancient texts, to art work, to religious works, and even to the study of law.
See also
Exegesis -- Hermeneutics -- Literary criticism -- Literary theory -- Romanticism
