Wilhelm Von Humboldt And German Liberalism

Wilhelm von Humboldt has been called by Madame de Stael "the greatest intellect in Europe," while Talleyrand called him "one of the three ablest states-men of Europe." He was a poet, classicist, translator, author of books on history, aesthetics, anthropology, linguistics, political theory and government institutions, a public servant, educational, reformer, diplomat, very close friend and intellectual comrade to Schiller and Goethe and he lived through the age of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna. This new study is based on a complete and thorough reading of von Humboldt's writings and biography. The focus is to reassess the origins and particular nature of von Humboldt's life and writings in the context of an understanding of contemporary liberalism and liberal theory. The author asserts that German liberalism requires a re-evaluation and the works of Wilhelm von Humboldt are a significant clue to that reconsideration.