Examines Dilthey's hermeneutics, aesthetics, practical philosophy, and philosophy of history, showing how his work remains relevant for philosophers today.

Introduction: Wilhelm Dilthey in context Eric S. Nelson; Part I. Life, Hermeneutics, and Science: 1. Dilthey's conception of purposiveness: its Kantian basis and hermeneutical function Rudolf A. Makkreel; 2. Leben erfaßt hier Leben: Dilthey as a philosopher of (the) life (sciences) Jos de Mul; 3. Dilthey's importance for hermeneutics Michael N. Forster; 4. Hermeneutics and historicity: Dilthey's critique of historical reason Charles Bambach; 5. Dilthey's defense of historicism Frederick C. Beiser; 6. More than one 'kind' of science? Implications of Dilthey's hermeneutics for science studies Robert C. Scharff; Part II. Practical Philosophy, Aesthetics, and Interpretation: 7. Dilthey and empathy Shaun Gallagher; 8. Dilthey's ethical theory Benjamin Crowe; 9. Dilthey's dream and the struggle of world-views Nicolas de Warren; 10. A task most pressing: Dilthey's philosophy of the novel and his rewriting of modern aesthetics Kristin Gjesdal; 11. Experience and metaphysics: the anti-Hegelian aesthetics of Dilthey and Santayana Paul Guyer; 12. Dilthey and Wittgenstein: understanding understanding Lee Braver; 13. Dilthey's hermeneutics and philosophical hermeneutics Jean Grondin.