WILHELM WINDELBAND. - Philosopher and historian of philosophy, born in Potsdam on 14 May 1848, died in Heidelberg on 22 October 1915. He studied in Jena, Berlin, and Göttingen under K. Fischer and H. Lotze (q.v.). He taught philosophy at Leipzig (1873), Zurich (1876), Freiburg (1882), Strasbourg (1882), and Heidelberg (1903).
Windelband’s work unfolded primarily in the field of the history of philosophy, to which he made notable contributions, especially in the criteria that informed II. In his work, alongside careful and informed historical research, he employed a rigorous scientific method that enabled him to integrate the history of philosophy into philosophy itself and into the history of culture. This is better understood when one considers that Windelband belonged to the “philosophy of values” (q.v.), one of the principal expressions of Neo-Kantianism.
Among his principal works on the history of philosophy are: *Die Geschichte der neueren Philosophie in ihrem Zusammenhang mit der allgemeinen Kultur und den besonderen Wissenschaften* (2 vols., Leipzig 1878; 7th ed. 1922; Italian trans. by A. Oberdorfer, 3 vols., Florence 1925), one of the most exhaustive investigations into modern philosophical thought from the Renaissance to early positivism. More significant in a certain respect is the *Lehrbuch der Geschichte der Philosophie* (1891; 12th ed. completed by E. Rothacker, Tübingen-Leipzig 1928; Italian trans. by C. Dentice D’Accadia from the 13th ed., Palermo 1938; 14th ed. ed. by H. Heimsoeth, Tübingen-Leipzig 1950), which is a history of philosophical problems and fundamental expressions of philosophical thought, and thus of more direct theoretical interest. Also noteworthy is *Platon* (7th ed., Stuttgart 1900; Italian trans. by M. Graziussi, Palermo 1914). Among his contributions to philosophical research, the best known is *Präludien. Aufsätze und Reden zur Einleitung in die Philosophie* (2 vols., Freiburg 1884; 9th ed. 1924; Italian trans. by G. Arrighi, Milan 1947).
Windelband considered philosophy to be the science of “values,” which are the fruit of spiritual activity and at the same time its necessary presuppositions. Among values, logical, aesthetic, and ethical ones hold particular significance, as they manifest themselves both in the life of the individual and in the process of culture. It is possible to find a synthesis of such values and their transcendent expression in religious consciousness, to which Windelband devoted particular attention (cf. the essay *Il divino*, Italian ed. of *Präludien*, pp. 200-27). It has been said that the position of the philosophy of values represents a meeting of the Kantian attitude with that of Goethe, and this is particularly evident in Windelband’s effort to provide a critical foundation for human values.
Historical sciences hold particular prominence in relation to the natural sciences; since historical sciences are part of the human sciences, they are, as such, sciences of values par excellence and thus norms for thought and action, for culture and life.