Wilhelm Von Humboldt: A Critical Review on His Philosophy of Language, Theory And Practice of Education

Abstract

Wilhelm Von Humboldt was among those philosophers who used
language as a tool to study the human mind and interpret human
cultural differences. Humboldt equated language and thought as
inseparable. His model of language can be summarized as follows:
the character and structure of a language expresses the inner life and
knowledge of its speakers, and that language must differ from one
another in the same way and to the same degree as those who use
them. Humboldt's approach to Allgemeine Bildung or well-rounded
education was based on his own experience and lifelong learning
process. The study of Humboldt’s work ‘helps to clarify the central
problems and questions of recent educational theory as matters
concerning all of us, and also help to resolve issues which require
further theoretical and practical analysis’ (Benner,1990)

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