Why Humboldt now? Does his legacy live on? An introduction

Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767-1835), who is universally known as a cosmopolitan linguist, philosopher, statesman and writer, is the focus of this monographic issue of “Odradek”. The basic idea underlying our interest in his thought is that, in times of great complexity such as ours, his reflections on language, politics, education etc., give us tools to interpret and better understand the present times. The figure of Wilhelm von Humboldt and his ideas still fascinate scholars across different disciplines – from Philosophy to Linguistics and philosophical Anthropology – and constitute a focus of research.