On the Interpretation of Weltanschauung

Abstract

This chapter gives a methodological analysis of the concept of Weltanschauung and determines its logical place within the conceptual framework of the cultural and historical sciences. It elucidates the methodological principles by which endeavours of this kind are guided. The difficult and paradoxical nature of the concept of Weltanschauun g stems from the fact that the entity it denotes lies outside the province of theory. Unity and totality of the concept of Weltanschauung mean that we must go not merely beyond the theoretical but beyond any and all cultural objectifications. Every cultural objectification (such as a work of art, a religious system, etc.), and also every self-contained or incomplete phase of it is, under this aspect, really something fragmentary, and the corresponding totality cannot be supplied at the level of the objectifications. The chapter presents methodological discussion of certain works in which the attempt is made to give a scientific account of global outlook in terms of documentary analysis.

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