Wilhelm von Humboldt - Biography

Wilhelm von Humboldt (June 22, 1767-April 8, 1835) was a philosopher, linguist and German governmental bureaucrat. von Humboldt was a driving force behind the educational system in Prussia. More recently, Wilhelm von Humboldt’s work has influenced language philosophy, hermeneutics, semiotics and contemporary linguistics. He has influenced a wide range of philosophers and linguists including Boas, Buhler, Ernst Cassirer, Noam Chomsky, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Jürgen Habermas, Martin Heidegger, Liebrucks, Pott, Sapir, and Steinthal. Unfortunately, in some cases this influence, is limited to the use of von Humboldt to reinforce their own conceptual projects. He provided the impetus for the founding Humboldt Universitat of Berlin.

von Humboldt was born in Potsdam. One of the many influential and culturally significant private tutors to work with Wilhelm von Humboldt was Johann Jakob Engel. Engel introduced von Humboldt to the works of Etienne Bonnot de Condillac, Harris, Johann Gottfried Herder, David Hume, Leibniz, Locke and Rousseau. Throughout this period, von Humboldt also was studying Classical writers. His first published essay was "Socrates und Plato über die Gottheit" in which von Humboldt investigate the concepts of divinity and argues for the ideal of natural religion.

While still young, Wilhelm von Humboldt engaged in the intellectual salons of Berlin. Wilhelm von Humboldt studied at Prussian University Frankfurt an der Oder. The thin intellectual environment provoked a departure after one term. At the University of Gottingen, von Humboldt (and his brother Alexander) found a more stimulating intellectual environment. von Humboldt studied the law as well as classical philology and natural science.

In 1789, Joachim Heinrich Campe (a former tutor) escorted Wilhelm von Humboldt to France after the initial salvos of the Revolution. This tour which included stops at Paris, the Rhineland and Switzerland helped shape his philosophical development through the maintenance of a travel journal.

He became a councilor and supreme court assessor in Berlin in 1790 after passing the Prussian civil service exams. Wilhelm von Humboldt would give up this positions in 1791 so that he could retire to his Erfurt and Thringia estates and study antiquity. He faced heavy censorship and only selections of his essays were published. The censorship arose from von Humboldt’s worldview that questioned enlightened despotism in favor of individual duty. Wilhelm von Humboldt used this time to develop a friendship with Friedrich Schiller and Johann Wolfgang Goethe. von Humboldt’s thinking would influence the creative output of Friedrich Schiller. He would also act as their philosophical idea.

Wilhelm von Humboldt expressed his political philosophy in 1792 through a series of articles that he published in Berlinischce Monatsschrift and Neue Thalia. He wrote on the French Constitution and limits of governmental authorities. The articles he wrote during this period were included in a posthumous collection Versuch die Grenzen der Wirksamkeit des Staates zu bestimmen . The publication of this work would fuel the work of English thinkers, John Stuart Mill's and Mathew Arnold. John Stuart Mills would, in fact, use a quote from von Humboldt to introduce On Liberty. German Marxists and conservative nationalists balked at Wilhelm von Humboldt’s insistence of the centrality of individual rights.

Wilhem von Humboldt relocated to Jena in 1794. He met and began an exchange of intelecual ideas with Johann Gottlieb Fichte and Friedrich and August Wilhelm Schlegel at this time. von Humboldt wrote articles entitled “Ueber männliche und weibliche Form” and “Ueber den Geschlechts-Unterschied.” These essays explored the nature of gender in the context of natural philosophy and in thesecond text how it related to aesthetics. In addition, Wilhelm von Humboldt, Alexander von Humboldt and Johann Wolfgang Goethe studied comparative anatomy at the University of Jena. In 1797, von Humboldt’s “Plan einer vergleichenden Anthropologie” would help lay the foundation for comparative anthropology.

Between 1797 and 1799, Wilhelm von Humboldt relocated his family to France and Spain. While in Paris, von Humboldt met with French politicians. He also attended the famous literary salon of Madame de Stael. At the Institut National (the precursor to the Academie Francaise), Wilhelm von Humboldt argued with French intellectuals about the philosophy of Kant. von Humboldt also engaged in criticism of French theater, literature and philosophy. In 1799, Aesthetische Versuche I. Ueber Goethes Herrman und Dorothea was published. Wilhelm von Humboldt had this aesthetic study translated into French so that Madame de Stael could read it.

In part, von Humboldt moved to Spain so that he could study the Basque language. His study overturned most of the prevailing thoughts on the nature of the language. This period of research was crucial in the development of Berichtigungen und Zusatze zu Adelungs Mithridates uber die Kantabrische oder Baskische Sprache and Prufung der Untersuchungen uber die Urbewohner Hispaniens Vermittelst der Baskischen Sprache . These books were released in 1817 and 1821 respectively. Wihelm von Humboldt’s linguistic studies also lead him into the fields of Oriental Languages. This research included a text on the Javanese languages, Uber die Kawisprache ouf der Insel Java. von Humboldt’s linguistic investigations are still relevant and innovative in that they focus on the structure of language and not its history.

From 1801 until 1808, he held the position of Prussian Resident Minister to the Vatican in Rome. In Italy, Wilhelm von Humboldt continued his intellectual and philosophical pursuits. During this period, Wilhelm von Humboldt also translated Classical Greek literature (including the works of Pindar and Aischylos) into German. His idiosyncratic vision of translation as expressed in the introduction was not fully accepted until the twentieth century when it was espoused by such thinkers of as Walter Benjamin.

The von Humboldt household in Rome became a cultural hotbed, attracting the likes of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Madame de Stael, and August Wilhelm Schlegel.

Under the backdrop of the ancient city, he wrote "Latium und Hellas”, and “Geschichte des Verfalls und Untergangs der griechischen Freistaaten.” These two essays explored the decline of ancient civilizations. He also composed his elegiac poem “Rom” in commemoration of the city.

During his stay in Rome, Wilhelm von Humboldt become acquainted with Lorenzo Hervas, the former head of the Jesuit Missions in the Americas. Alexander von Humboldt also traveled to South and Central America. These two sources gave von Humboldt material for his work on Native American languages. Catálogo des las lenguas de las naciones conocidas

When he returned to Berlin in 1809, he was appointed the Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs and Public Education. In his role as minister, von Humboldt founded the University of Berlin. He pursued the most influential educators available while fostering an atmosphere of intellectual freedom. From 1814 until 1815, he led the Prussian representatives in the Congress of Vienna. True to his philosophical outlook, Wilhelm von Humboldt lobbied for a unified constitution and more liberal institutions. However, he was able to successfully advocate for the rights of the Jewish people.

In 1819, Wilhelm von Humboldt withdrew from political life and returned to his estate, Tegel. King Friedrich Wilhelm III disinvested him of all of his political responsibilities. With a few extended visits, Wilhelm von Humboldt spent the remainder of his life in Tegel.

Wilhelm von Humboldt’s essay and critical texts include Uber die Kawisprache ouf der Insel Java, Berichtigungen und Zusatze zu Adelungs Mithridates uber die Kantabrische oder Baskische Sprache, Versuch die Grenzen der Wirksamkeit des Staates zu bestimmen , Uber die Verschiedenheit des Menschlichen Sprachbaues und ihren Einfluss auf die Geistige Entwicklung des Menschengeschlechts," Prufung der Untersuchungen uber die Urbewohner Hispaniens Vermittelst der Baskischen Sprache , Aesthetische Versuchen, "Ideen uber Staatsverfassungen durch die Franzosische Revolution Veranlasst", "Ideen zu einem Versuch, die Grenzen der Wirksamkeit eines Staates zu Bestimmen." His poetry includes the elegiac “Rom” as well as many exemplary sonnets.