Dilthey y la esencia de la filosofía

Abstract

According to Dilthey, a systematic answer to the question of the essence of philosophy is not possible. Therefore he takes on a historical and inductive investigation about the multiple meaning that the concept of philosophy has assumed; this inquiry characterizes philosophy as a search for universal validity. A functional concept of philosophy that shows several contents under different historical conditions emerges from this historical analysis. The constituent function that Dilthey finds under this diversity —the desire of justifying and founding— spreads itself over numerous cultural and social fields and, at the same time, it is interconnected through philosophical reflection. This reflection explains the constituent function as a compensating function of the disintegrating tendency of particular sciences.