Abstract
Any discipline which intends to study and understand human being, under the impact of positivism in 19th century, gradually tends towards quantitative research and positivist approach which is based on hypothesis and experiment. However, as one of the important philosophers who dug into Human Sciences (Geisteswissenschaften, which are generally regarded as Humanities and Social Sciences nowadays), Wilhelm Dilthey (1833-1911) insisted that the method of Natural Sciences cannot be applied arbitrarily to Human Sciences. The latter has its independent subject matter, method and value. With the development of “Critique of Historical Reason” (Kritik der historischen Vernunft), he brought forth a “Descriptive and Analytic Psychology” (beschreibende und zergliedernde Psychologie) which served to lay a philosophical foundation for Human Sciences. Yet this psychology has come under severe criticism. Dilthey then seems to give up the study of psychology and shift to Hermeneutics. This is thus generally regarded as the “Hermeneutic Turn” in the latter years of his life. Therefore, his study in psychology is neglected. With this overwhelming view, this thesis intends to re-examine the psychology that Dilthey once proposed and suggests that he never gave up this psychology, which could serves as the core of his thought. With the attempt to break down “Critique of Historical Reason” into three aspects, which are respectively the phenomenological, the epistemological and the methodological aspect, while they can also serve as the early, middle and later phase of his thought, I try to argue that his psychology is the inner thread of his thought. As an epistemological foundation, psychology connected the early and later phase of his thought. It runs through the whole Critique. On this basis, I attempt to argue that Dilthey’s psychology is a “study of human nature”, which has its subject matter “life” (Leben). Dilthey did not attempt to build up an epistemological model or analyze mental mechanism or the function of consciousness with some kinds of psychological theory at the first place. He always kept his mind on “life” as the core of all Human Sciences and even all knowledge of human being. Therefore, Dilthey’s psychology is rather a kind of “Philosophy of Life” for understanding the concept “life” or “Anthropology” for understanding human being, which are both basically the study of human nature on which all Human Sciences base, than psychological analysis for constructing the function of consciousness.