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Any theory intended to describe and analyze socio-historical reality cannot restrict itself to the human spirit and disregard the totality of human nature.
Wilhelm Dilthey
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote emphasizes the importance of considering all aspects of human nature when analyzing historical and social realities.

Wilhelm Dilthey asserts that any theoretical framework aimed at understanding socio-historical conditions must encompass the entirety of human existence, including emotional, social, and cultural dimensions, rather than focusing solely on abstract, intellectual aspects. This holistic approach ensures a more comprehensive grasp of the complexities of human life and its historical contexts.

Themes

Human NatureSocio-HistoricalPhilosophyTheoryAnalysis

In practice

Example use cases

In a lecture on social theory, one could quote this to emphasize the need for a holistic understanding of human behavior.

More from Wilhelm Dilthey

From the perspective of mere representation, the external world always remains only a phenomenon.
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The sciences which take socio-historical reality as their subject matter are seeking, more intensively than ever before, their systematic relations to one another and to their foundation.
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The knife of historical relativism... which has cut to pieces all metaphysics and religion must also bring about healing.
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All science is experiential; but all experience must be related back to and derives its its validity from the conditions and context of consciousness in which it arises, i.e., the totality of our nature.
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If there were a science of human beings it would be anthropology that aims at understanding the totality of experience through structural context.
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The individual always realizes only one of the possibilities in his development, which could always have taken a different turning whenever he had to make an important decision.
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