Abstract
One of the master narratives in the history of the cultural sciences recounts how the modern Geisteswissenschaften were constructed in opposition to Enlightenment "scientism." It is assumed that a radical split between natural science and the descriptive historical sciences occurred, enabling the cultural sciences to develop their own unique methods, epistemology, and explanatory procedures. In this article I analyze Wilhelm von Humboldt's concepts of history and linguistics as a test case to question this master narrative, arguing that Humboldt consciously constructed his version of historical and linguistic science upon a model of science formulated in and by Enlightenment thinkers. This model, which I call Enlightenment vitalism, was designed to mediate between early eighteenth-century mechanism and animism. Its central features included: 1) the transformation of method founded upon "controlled empiricism"; 2) a redefinition of matter in which reciprocal interaction replaced simple aggregation; 3) the reintroduction of the concept of active forces in nature along with the concept of purposeful direction; 4) the development of an epistemology emphasizing the centrality of Anschauung and "divination"; 5) the formulation of a harmonic vision of reality and explanation that questioned the basic assumptions underpinning binary systems of logic and explanation. In order to show how Humboldt employed this model, I concentrate upon two interrelated issues: his conception of the relationship between nature and human culture and the epistemology and content of his explanatory procedures. I attempt to demonstrate that Humboldt assumed a basic analogy between living matter (organization) and human culture. This analogy served as the foundation upon which he constructed his definitions of history and linguistics. I interpret Humboldt's epistemological principles as expressions of those evolved by Enlightened vitalism and argue that his Ideenlehre must be understood within the context of Enlightenment vitalism's definition of active vital forces. In short, I argue that Humboldt, rather than leading an attack against Enlightenment scientism, developed the Enlightenment project of creating a science of humanity (science de l'homme) to its highest degree.