Abstract

This paper is about Dilthey’s understanding of the fundamental philosophical problem of the freedom of the will. The author first locates that Dilthey is taking up this problem in his historical-philosophical analysis of Schleiermacher, Kant, and medieval philosophers. From the posthumously published works the author can show that Dilthey also dealt with the problem of free will in a distinctively philosophical-systematic way in the psychology-lectures of the 1870s and 80s. Dilthey’s affinity to Kant’s understanding of freedom is demonstrated – but also how Dilthey continuously worked on clarifying the concept of psychology, regarding whether freedom of will can be demonstrated empirically or whether it is a problem that lies beyond empirical psychology. Freedom – not as a problem of metaphysical science – is discussed by Dilthey in the sense of a metaphysical understanding of the person. Dilthey thus paved the way for the philosophy of the 20th century.