Wilhelm Windelband

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Wilhelm Windelband (W. Windelband) (May 11, 1848October 22, 1915) was a German philosopher of the Baden School.

Born in Potsdam, he is now mainly remembered for the terms nomothetic and idiographic, which he introduced. These have currency in psychology and other areas, though not necessarily in line with his original meanings. Windelband was a neo-Kantian who protested other neo-Kantians of his time and maintained that "to understand Kant rightly means to go beyond him."

Windelband relied in his effort to reach beyond Kant on such philosophers as Hegel, Herbart and Lotze. Closely associated with Windelband was Heinrich Rickert. Windelband's disciples were not only noted philosophers, but sociologists like Max Weber and theologians like Ernst Troeltsch.

[edit] Bibliography

The following works by Windelband are available in English translations:

  • History Of Ancient Philosophy (1899)
  • History of Philosophy (1901) (two volumes)
  • Introduction to Philosophy (1895)
  • Theories in Logic

[edit] Sources