Wilhelm von Humboldt
1767-1835 · Liberalism · Known
Wilhelm von Humboldt was a Prussian statesman and linguist. He gave the state one legitimate job, keeping you secure, and told it to stop there, since the human end is Bildung, growing your own powers into a harmonious whole in your own way. He also studied language as an activity that generates rather than a stock of words, each tongue carrying its own way of seeing the world.
Signature
The position Humboldt is most identified with in the Profiler:
- Polity
- leans Liberalism
- Language
- Expression
Positions on the 2 axes the sources answer
- Society
- leans Individualism (88 on a 0–100 scale from Collectivism to Individualism)
- Polity
- leans Liberalism (88 on a 0–100 scale from Illiberalism to Liberalism)
18 of 20 axes are left blank: the sources do not answer them, or Humboldt refused the framing. Nothing is imputed; a blank is not a middling score.
Foundational questions
- Government
- Other
What is your ideal form of government? - Highest Good
- Freedom
What is the highest good? - Authority
- Consent of the Governed
What is the legitimate source of authority? - Language
- Expression
What is the fundamental nature of language? - Human Nature
- Existence Precedes Essence
What is human nature? - Primary Bond
- Humanity / Nation
What is your primary bond and loyalty?