the prevailing rationalist, universalist, and scientistic
views of language, psychology, history, and culture.
Herder’s most influential contribution to political
thought is his philosophy of history and culture. His
arguments are most fully set out in Another Philosophy
of History and Humanity, 1774, and in Ideas for a
Philosophy of History and Humanity,1784–91. As with
many of Herder’s central themes, Herder’s first interest
in the opposition between history and REASONbegan
with his study of language and literature. The latter,
he argued, cannot be properly understood outside of
the historical context of their development. To under-
stand language and literature is to comprehend the
particularities of the circumstances of their creation; it
is this idea that Herder applies to understanding his-
tory. The enlightenment model of historical knowl-
edge was the application of universal values and
measures to all cultures. Cultures could be under-
stood by standing outside and beyond them, using
reason and objectivity as the tools of knowledge.
Herder argued that cultures could only be understood
by taking up a position inside the culture in question,
abandoning one’s own cultural prejudices, and seeing
the world within the circumstances of that culture.
The political realization of the enlightenment ideal
was, in Herder’s view, the centralized, BUREAUCRATIC
STATE, exemplified in his own time by the sprawling
states of Austria and Russia. He objected to what he
took to be the coercive character of these cosmopolitan
states that incorporated diverse cultures and nations
within their borders. He argued that political freedom
required nations of people who shared a common cul-
ture, history, and most particularly language. Herder
thus advocated NATIONALISM. He was, however, careful
to argue that there was no hierarchy of cultures and
that cultures were therefore of an equal value. It was a
nationalism intended to promote freedom and agency
within nations and between nations equal in worth.
Herder’s philosophy avoided strict analytic divi-
sions and reductive solutions. He thus argued against
what he called faculty psychology, where the mind was
neatly divided into parts, some concerned with reason,
some with desire, and so on. He also resisted the idea
that science was universal in its scope and methods.
He was one of the first to argue that knowledge of
human behavior and society required different scien-
tific methods than those used for the natural world.
Herder’s influence on political thought is ines-
timable. His historicist approaches to philosophical
and political concerns continue to shape debates and
mark the divisions between those who advocate a uni-
versalist agenda and those who oppose the paradigm
handed down from the Enlightenment thinkers. His
influence was most clear in the 19th century when his
ideas found their way into the writings of FICHTEand
HEGELand through these to MARXand NIETZCHE.
Herder was the son of a schoolmaster. He studied at
the University of Köningsberg under KANT, attending
his lectures. His views on language and history were
influenced by the anti-Enlightenment thinker J. G.
Hamann. He in turn was an important influence on
Goethe.Further Reading
Berlin, I. Vico and Herder.New York: Viking Press, 1976.hierarchy/hierarchical
A social organization based on higher and lower ranks,
AUTHORITY, and power. Perhaps the easiest MODERN
example of hierarchy is the military, with its strict
order of rank and authority. In a hierarchical system,
power is formal, official, and clearly obvious. The peo-
ple higher on the hierarchical scale, or “superiors,”
have control and power over those lower on the hier-
archy, or “inferiors.” Another example is the CATHOLIC
Church with its hierarchy of priests, bishops, cardi-
nals, and the pope. In traditional hierarchical political
theory (such as ARISTOTLE, St. Thomas AQUINAS), hierar-
chical authority is good because it represents superior
VIRTUE, intelligence, goodness, skill, or honor having
power over the less accomplished or less moral. Hier-
archical theory also applies to ideas or values in which
some philosophies or religions are better than others.
In CLASSICAL thought (PLATO) the PHILOSOPHER-KING
rules because of his superior virtue in wisdom and
goodness, and this benefits everyone in society, includ-
ing the lesser people. In Aristotelian philosophy, supe-
rior people, ideas, or values are characterized by being
more complete or comprehensive (so politics is supe-
rior to economics because it encompasses it). CHRIS-
TIANtheology holds that its religion is best because it
includes the finest elements of all other faiths but goes
beyond them (“I am the way, the truth and the life,” in
Jesus’ words). This hierarchical approach to society
and ideas is contrasted with EGALITARIANviews, which
present all people and values as equally important and
valid. This EQUALITYview, characteristic of most MOD-
ERN, ENLIGHTENMENTthought, naturally led to DEMOC-
RACY, in which, in JEFFERSON’s phrase, “all men arehierarchy/hierarchical 137