Wilhelm von Humboldt 1767 – 1835
Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand von Humboldt was a Prussian philosopher, linguist, and statesman, founder of the modern research university and of the modern philosophy of language. As Minister of Education he reformed the Prussian school system and founded the University of Berlin, which became the model for modern research universities worldwide. His Limits of State Action, written in 1791 but published only after his death, defended a strictly limited state in the name of individual self-cultivation, and his late linguistic writings argued that each language embodies a distinct worldview.
Key facts
- Nationality
- German
- Era
- Modern
- Movements
- German Idealism, Enlightenment
Selected quotes
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Attributed to Wilhelm von Humboldt:
“Language is the formative organ of thought.”
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Attributed to Wilhelm von Humboldt:
“The true end of man is the highest and most harmonious development of his powers to a complete and consistent whole.”
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Attributed to Wilhelm von Humboldt:
“The state should restrict itself to the security of person and property.”
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Attributed to Wilhelm von Humboldt:
“The diversity of languages corresponds to a diversity of worldviews.”
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Attributed to Wilhelm von Humboldt:
“Without freedom no genuine cultivation is possible.”