Dietrich von Hildebrand's Philosophy: Knowledge and Meaning

This essay provides a synoptic view of Dietrich von Hildebrand's philosophical ideas, particularly focusing on his epistemological understanding of knowledge and its importance for mankind. It delves into his analysis of what constitutes human knowledge, the significance of philosophy, and ...Read More

Running head: PHILOSOPHY OF HILDEBRAND
PHILOSOPHY OF HILDEBRAND
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Author Note

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Dietrich von Hildebrand was one of the pioneering philosophers of his times. The most
profound contribution of his lies in his skeptical and rational understanding, explanation and
analysis of the established doctrines of Christianity; his philosophical enquiry about the question
of what constitutes at the heart of human knowledge and the meaning and significance of
philosophy for mankind. Dietrich von Hildebrand was well known for viewing the inner meaning
of the prevalent doctrines and breaking free from the parochial and uncritical bent of human
mind to accept the state of affairs and the ideas that are prevalent in society without must protest.
Since Dietrich von Hildebrand had been able to think differently, his works find a reflection of
that and that has generated a profound impact in causing human beings to open up to a totally
new world of ideas and imbibe the spirit of awakening. In the works of Dietrich von Hildebrand
one can find an influence of several classical philosophers and also of those philosophers who
were his contemporaries. Those ideas were combined by means of taking into account their
positive aspects and by imbibing his personal philosophical predispositions. Through that
process Dietrich von Hildebrand has been able to prove the centrality of philosophy in all human
questions thereby elevating the status of the discipline above all other. In this particular essay, a
synoptic view of the ideas provided by Dietrich von Hildebrand shall be provided with special
emphasis on the aspect of the attempt made by him in deciphering the meaning and significance
of philosophy that has relevance for entire mankind. In other word it is an epistemological
understanding of knowledge and the utilitarian significance it has in human life. It is however
impossible to ignore the mention of religion in his works since that has been placed at the heart
of his theorization of human knowledge and philosophy. Thus in this particular essay, three
aspects shall be finding a mention, the views of Dietrich von Hildebrand on Religion, his views
on human knowledge and what constitutes philosophy.

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According to Dietrich von Hildebrand the very interest which propels one to embark
upon a deep quest of knowledge is synonymous to indulgence in a philosophical enquiry. Thus
the philosophy is the quest for seeking answers to the problems and as to why a particular state
of affair prevails or exists. On the basis of the inference that is drawn from the query that the task
of establishing knowledge is accomplished (Hildebrand). This particular analysis provided by
Dietrich von Hildebrand has a sophist undertone to it. Socrates had considered truth to be
knowledge and that knowledge is formed by means of questioning and seeking answer behind
why a system functions in the way it does. The activity of looking forward to finding the reason
is the very essence of knowledge creation, and that strand of logic is found both the set of ideas
provided by Socrates and Dietrich von Hildebrand. Both of them have elevated the status of the
quest for knowledge or indulging in philosophical requisites of human existence to that of agent
which sharpens human intellect. The very basis of the generation of knowledge lies in the human
interest to look for answers and provide a credible basis to the set of human values and beliefs.
When the very interest to indulge in the philosophical queries cease to exist, that marks the death
of human intellect. As per the opinions of both Socrates and Dietrich von Hildebrand, human
intellect must relentlessly propel itself to the path of seeking answers and that leads to the
awakening of the human mind, and that in turn showcases itself by means of the development
that human beings brings about. Development is thus but a state which first begins at the realm
of mind, and then manifests itself materially in the social sphere. Until and unless the thought
process develops, the state of human life shall not be developing, since elevated ideas are the
basis of actions that shall be leading to the development (Hildebrand). This importance of ideas
over the materialistic aspects of life is an indication that the philosophy of knowledge as
provided by Dietrich von Hildebrand has an essence of Hegelian Idealism to it. Hegel had argued

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that materials are but a manifestation of the ideas. Ideas are abstract and their concrete
expression and manifestation lies in the materials. It is very important thus to have a clear and
well defined idea, without which it would be difficult to render the idea a physical, tangible and
concrete form. Thus the connection between idea and philosophy is clear that they are
complementary to each other. Philosophy is the quest for new ideas and that cuts across all
disciplines. Naturally, philosophy as one can find in Platonic discourses is the master of all
science. Whether it is an enquiry about human behaviour and problems in the sphere of social
sciences, or an indulgence in some experiment or research by a natural scientist, philosophy is
central to each of the branches of scholarly pursuit. Both the genres of scholarly pursuits,
concerning social science as well as the natural science is motivated by indulging in enquiries
which shall be aimed at solving the problems of human beings. Naturally, both disciplines have
to devote efforts which shall be enable them to find out the answers and that requires
questioning. If the spirit of questioning, the spirit of being critical is absent then it shall become
difficult to solve the problems of human lives (Hildebrand). That is owing to the fact that the
problems of human lives are dynamic in nature and they keep on appearing and reappearing.
Problems do not seem to stop and the solving of one problem does not imply that it shall be the
be all and end all of all problems. Naturally, human beings are supposed to exhibit a sense of
preparedness at all points of time and be prepared to provide a solution to the problems that shall
be coming in future. For that purpose the established knowledge base shall become redundant
and a newer set of ideas and knowledge must be created in order to provide a worthwhile
solution (Hildebrand). This necessitates that the exercise of constantly expanding and broadening
the horizon of human knowledge must be kept intact. The very generic misconception about
philosophy being a discipline of social science is based on a wrong premise, since its scope is all

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pervasive. The centrality of philosophy can be attributed to the fact that it is aimed at enquiring
about the very essence of the existence and the meaning of the life of mankind, and that makes
philosophy synonymous to knowledge itself. It would however not be very unjustified to call
philosophy as the parent of all other disciplines, and the highest amongst all forms of knowledge,
given its embededness and all pervasiveness in all the disciplines. If one looks into the scheme of
life that a human being is supposed to observe in order to fulfill the purpose of indulging in
scholarly pursuits, the discipline of philosophy is the last discipline which one is supposed to
pursue, according to Plato (Hildebrand). He had planned things that way not because philosophy
is the least important discipline and the other disciplines like mathematics, medicine, arts, dance,
music, sports and warfare are way more important than the discipline of philosophy. Rather, the
importance of philosophy is way more than that of all other disciplines as per the views of Plato,
hence it is the prerogative of the chosen few to be pursued. For pursuing philosophy, Plato had
said that an individual needed to be intellectually sound and that was a matter of age and
maturity. The other disciplines which Plato had mentioned and prescribed to be pursued in the
early stages of life was not without substantial reason. The other disciplines were supposed to be
the base for the base and their scope of fulfilling the promise of solving the human problems
were very much limited given the fact that they were very specific and could only solve the
problems that fell in their respective domains (Hildebrand). Philosophy on the other hand
concerned itself with providing solutions for all the human problems. Thus having grasped the
basic forms of knowledge, an individual could be considered to be fit for indulging in the
pursuance of philosophy. Only those individual could reach up to the level of being capable
enough to pursue philosophy who had attained the level of intellectual superiority way more than
that of others, and that individual could potentially be the philosopher king. The philosopher king

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had the responsibility to look into all the problems and affairs of the people which were of
heterogenous nature and had to accordingly find the relevant solutions. Thus the idea that
Dietrich von Hildebrand wanted to disseminate about knowledge and its connection to
philosophy can be found in the works of many other solutions and that is an evidence of the
credibility of the point made by him that philosophy occupies a position of centrality in all
indulgences by human to extract knowledge (Hildebrand). Dietrich von Hildebrand had made a
point that philosophy can claim relevance even in the field of natural science as well. In this
regard the example of the discovery of gravity by Isaac Newton could be cited to substantiate the
claim made by Dietrich von Hildebrand. Issac Newton was on a lookout for the reason behind
the phenomenon of all objects fell back on the surface of the earth when flung upwards. While
the rest of the world seemed not to care about finding out the reason behind objects being
attracted to the surface of the earth, Newton seemed perplexed as to why such a phenomenon
took place. Apples fell from the trees on the surface of the earth after being detached from the
branches of the trees since time immemorial and that is something which was not discovered by
Issac Newton. The contribution of Newton was that he had questioned and this he had discovered
that the gravitational pull was the reason behind objects falling on the surface of the earth. The
philosophy herein is the spirit and the motivation to find out the reason behind the phenomenon
without accepting the thing blindly. Similarly in the social sphere, changes are constantly
happening. One social order is getting replaced by another one (Hildebrand). What used to be
just in previous generations, lose their relevance and are rendered as obsolete and archaic. In this
way human beings have been able to eradicate several social evils and put an end to several
draconian practices. The episodes of Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution and the French
Revolution are the classic examples of a change in social order and all of the changes at the

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societal level through those historical events have been brought about since human beings had
questioned the state of affairs and the deep philosophical question that had motivated the people
was the philosophical question of how to bring about a change and how shall the problems be
solved (Hildebrand). Had the people nit questioned the state of affairs that prevailed back then in
the 17th and the 18th Century Europe, the tyrannical and the old fashioned practices would have
prevailed for a longer period of time. Most of the changes in the societal level and in the field of
science have been brought about because of the fact that human beings tend to question and they
are propelled by the motivation to learn the secrets and gain more knowledge which shall
ultimately lead to their own benefit in the long run. This is a continuous process and never ceases
to exist, since human desires are infinite and is forever looking for innovation and something
new. Thus knowledge and philosophy are central to the very essence of human existence. It is
something which is inextricable linked to human existence and the recourse to all problems of
human beings as per Dietrich von Hildebrand. This justifies the significance and meaning of
philosophy in human lives and its connection to knowledge (Hildebrand).
Having discussed about the importance of knowledge and philosophy in the lives of
human beings as per the arguments of Dietrich von Hildebrand, now the discussion shall be
devoted towards discussing the aspect of divinity and the quest for God in human lives. This
particular philosophical question as discussed by Dietrich von Hildebrand cannot be understood
without being acquainted with the aspect of the philosophy of knowledge (Hildebrand). The
conception of Divinity and its role in shaping human lives is something which Dietrich von
Hildebrand have explained not from an abstract and purely theological point of view, but from a
very rational and intuitive perspective which is devoid of the ecclesiastical complexities or the
ritualistic intricacies. The concept of seeking God or divinity is something which is equal to the

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human quest for knowledge and the key to solving the mysteries of life (Hildebrand). God and
the entire retinue of divine aspects are but in very generic sense the ultimate truth and the
ultimate knowledge. It is a mystery, which is both a social construct and an epitome of mystery
by itself. The divine aspects are a mystery by virtue of the social perceptions because of the
anecdotes recounting of the miracles and the ecclesiastical efforts to keep it a mystery.
Moreover, it is also the social attitude of not questioning or trying to find out the mystery that
divinity embodies. That acquiescent and submissive attitude towards not challenging the clerical
interpretation of the religious scriptures has led to the entire concept of divinity and God beings a
mystery to the human world. On the other hand divinity and God are but a mystery because no
one has ever been able to prove the existence of God, but there are numerous instances of people
experiencing that divine grace in their lives. They are hailed and revered as saints and there
position is made equivalent by the human beings to that of being next to God. People tend to
believe very quickly of the instances recounted by the persons who have supposedly experienced
the divinity and they do not readily express any form of disbelief or doubt as they fear that they
might fall out of the divine grace and incur the wrath of the god which shall devastate the lives
totally (Hildebrand). The approach towards God and Divinity that is generally observed is
motivated primarily by two factors. One is the hope of incurring the grace of God by laying
immense and undoubted belief in him, and the other is the fear of sanctions which God might
wreak on the human lives. The explanation of Dietrich von Hildebrand with regard to God and
divinity is however very different from these generic explanations. It has more to do with the
philosophical quest to decipher and discover the mystery God embodies. The attempt is more
intellectual and philosophical rather than something mystical and metaphysical which cannot be
either proven or testified. In the explanation of Dietrich von Hildebrand, God is rather symbolic

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than anything of that sort which is of divine and miraculous by nature, having immense
capabilities to either make or mar human lives. God and divinity symbolizes the eternal quest of
human beings for the sake of seeking the knowledge and the truth (Hildebrand). The attempt
taken by Dietrich von Hildebrand to explain God is thus aimed at simplifying the complexities
and the abstractions related to the aspect in entirety. The inference drawn is not to cause human
beings to discontinue their belief in God and render it obsolete. Rather, the goal is to imbibe the
element of rationality into religion and divinity so that the scope of its meaning is easily
conveyed to the masses, and that in turn is expected to enable people to follow their religion, act
according to the wishes of God not as a matter of obligation but as a matter of conscious
decision. The rational attitude of Dietrich von Hildebrand in explaining the significance of God,
religion and divinity has been aimed at making people more religious since the idea was to
convey the values and moral essence it embodied. Dietrich von Hildebrand has based his
explanation on the premise that human activities which emanates from a position of being
informed and conscious are much more fruitful and utilitarian than the ones which are not based
on consciousness. Thus the aspect of God and Divinity has been defined by Dietrich von
Hildebrand vis a vis its relationship to human beings as a natural bond, which leads one to
conclude that God is not some magical, super powerful alien creature that controls human lives,
and nor is religion any activity or indulgence having a special significance in human lives
(Hildebrand). Both Religion and God are nothing mystical, they find expression in the everyday
lives of human beings, in all the positive and morally upright aspects of human lives. What
Dietrich von Hildebrand has said can be proven by the example of the reformation movement
that took place in Europe. The continent had undergone a phase of turmoil which had led to the
transformation of the old values and their replacement by the new ones. One such instance had

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been the change in the religion by awakening the consciousness of the people and driving people
to question the orthodoxies of Catholicism. The Reformation however did not turn people away
from religion, rather people were made to take conscious decision of having more rational
approach towards religion and learn about it, to discover the mystery themselves without reliance
of the clergy solely.
Thus religion and knowledge are nothing but the philosophical indulgences of human
beings to discover the truth that the world is replete with. That is the basis idea that I could
decipher and substantiate with evidences on the basis of my reading of Dietrich von Hildebrand.
This is what I have learnt from the lessons delivered in this particular module and shall be
serving as the key to the analysis that I am likely to take up I future.

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Bibliography
Hildebrand, Dietrich von. "What Is Philosophy?, with an Introductory Essay by Josef Seifert
(London and New York." (1991).