First published in 1998.This is Volume VIII of twenty-two in the Sociology of Social Theory and Methodology series. Written in 1952, this book looks at the concepts behind the German philosopher Wilhelm Dilthey, whose ideas extend into several fields of learning, of which philosophy is only one. They include critical and historical studies of literature and music; studies in educational theory and in the history of educational practice, ancient and modern; researches into the history of religious and political as well as philosophical ideas, especially since the Renaissance and Reformation, which have shaped his thinking.