DILTHEY AND THE HERMENEUTICS OF LIFE

Abstract

This text is about a study carried out by Wilhelm Dilthey in the field of culture, aiming the understanding of the soul. Its scope is to investigate how Dilthey sees the arts - mainly poety and literature - to reach the human soul. Culture, according to Dilthey, is a priviledged source of translation of the historical and psycological circumstances of mankind in time; it is a tissue of final that has one structure. This structure consists in the construction of the human imagery (einbildungskraft); concept by means of which it is possible to understand the human being in its deepest concrete form. The text consists of three main parts. In the first one, review Dilthey’s basic ideas about history, psychology and philosophy. In the second part, I discuss Poetry and Literature, underlining the way Dilthey approaches such manifestations of the soul. In the third part, I comment on my point of view of Dilthey’s hermeneutics.