De houding van Alexander von Humboldt tegenover de filosofie van Kant en Schelling.

Abstract

SUMMARY: The attitude of Alexander von Humboldt towards the philosophical thinking of Kant and Schelling. The attitude of the universal German natural scientist Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) with regard to the philosophical systems of Kant and Schelling, is much complicated than often is assumed. As with most of his contemporaries we find in the works of Alexander von Humbolt a search for unity in nature. In his youth he was strongly influenced by Kant and we find the ideas of these philosopher through the whole work of Alexander von Humboldt. The views of Schelling are not simply rejected by von Humboldt, on the contrary he speaks on it in praising terms. After all von Humboldt is no adherent of a speculative natural philosophy. He holds the view that empiricism and natural philosophy do not need to be hostile to each other, but he doubts on the possibility of it. On the other hand von Humboldt clearly rejects the pure speculative «Naturphilosophy» of Schelling's followers. In this article the attitude of Alexander von Humboldt towards the philosophical thinking of his time, represented by Kant and Schelling, is discussed.