The German Historicist Tradition

by Frederick C. Beiser

This is the first full study in English of the German historicist tradition. Frederick C. Beiser surveys the major German thinkers on history from the middle of the eighteenth century until the early twentieth century, providing an introduction to each thinker and the main issues in interpreting and appraising his thought. The volume offers new interpretations of well-known philosophers such as Johann Gottfried Herder and Max Weber, and introduces others who are scarcely known at all, including J. A. Chladenius, Justus Moser, Heinrich Rickert, and Emil Lask. Beyond an exploration of the historical and intellectual context of each thinker, Beiser illuminates the sources and reasons for the movement of German historicism--one of the great revolutions in modern Western thought, and the source of our historical understanding of the human world.

Genres: Philosophy, History, Nonfiction, Sociology, European History

612 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Frederick C. Beiser, one of the leading scholars of German Idealism, is a Professor of Philosophy at Syracuse University. Prior to joining Syracuse, he was a member of the faculty at Indiana University, Bloomington where he received a 1999-2000 NEH Faculty Fellowship. He has also taught at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Harvard and Yale University. Beiser earned his DPhil. degree from Oxford University under the direction of Charles Taylor and Isaiah Berlin.

Beiser's first book, The Fate of Reason: German Philosophy from Kant to Fichte (Harvard, 1987) was widely influential in revising the commonly held, but notorious accounts of German Idealism. In this book, Beiser sought to reconstruct the background of German Idealism through the narration of the story of the Spinoza or Pantheism controversy. Consequently, a great many figures, whose importance was hardly recognized by the English speaking philosophers, were given their proper due.
Beiser has also written on the German Romantics and 19th century British philosophy.

Reviews

[Hussam Nabil · Rating 5 out of 5]

فريدريك بايزر من أعظم الناس اللي بتكتب عن الفلسفة الألمانية في القرن ال١٨ وال١٩ لأنه متعمق جدا في كل مدارسها واتجاهاتها
الكتاب دا عن التقليد التاريخاني الألماني والتقليد التاريخاني كان هدفه انه يؤسس التاريخ كعلم أكاديمي منفصل له مواضيع دراسته الخاصة ومنهجياته.
بايزر بيربط دا التقليد بالظروف السياسية والاجتماعية المحيطة به ولكن كمان بيربطه بالمدارس والاتجاهات الأخرى في الفكر الألماني او الفكر في القارة الأوروبية اللي بيتحاور معها او متأثر بها
____
هكتب عن الكتاب دا أكتر بعدين لأني بحبه جدا

[JR Roach · Rating 5 out of 5]

At long last, it is accomplished.

[noblethumos · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The German Historicist Tradition" is a book written by Frederick Beiser, an American philosopher and historian of German philosophy, and first published in 2011. The book is an exploration of the German historicist tradition, a philosophical movement that emerged in the 19th century and had a profound influence on German thought and culture.

Historicism is the idea that historical context and cultural traditions are essential for understanding and interpreting human thought and behavior. Beiser argues that the German historicist tradition is characterized by its rejection of abstract, universal principles and its emphasis on historical context and cultural specificity.

Beiser traces the development of the historicist tradition from its roots in the work of Johann Gottfried Herder, through the writings of influential figures such as Wilhelm Dilthey and Friedrich Nietzsche, to its impact on modern philosophy and social theory.

One of the central themes of the book is the tension between historicism and the Enlightenment tradition of universalism and rationalism. Beiser argues that the historicist tradition represents a challenge to the Enlightenment ideal of objective knowledge and universal principles, and that it offers a more nuanced and contextualized approach to understanding human thought and behavior.

Overall, "The German Historicist Tradition" is an important contribution to the study of German philosophy and intellectual history, and offers insights into the continuing debate over the nature of knowledge and the role of historical context in human understanding.

GPT