Editing Wilhelm Wundt (section)

=== System of philosophy ===
Wundt claimed that philosophy as a general science has the task of "uniting to become a consistent system through the general knowledge acquired via the individual sciences." Human rationality strives for a uniform, i.e. non-contradictory, explanatory principle for being and consciousness, for an ultimate reasoning for ethics, and for a philosophical world basis. "Metaphysics is the same attempt to gain a binding world view, as a component of individual knowledge, on the basis of the entire scientific awareness of an age or particularly prominent content."<ref>Wundt: System der Philosophie, 1919, Volume 1, p. 17.</ref> Wundt was convinced that empirical psychology also contributed fundamental knowledge on the understanding of humans – for anthropology and ethics – beyond its narrow scientific field. Starting from the active and creative-synthetic apperception processes of consciousness, Wundt considered that the unifying function was to be found in volitional processes and the conscious setting of objectives and subsequent activities. "There is simply nothing more to a man that he can entirely call his own – except for his will."<ref>Wundt: System der Philosophie, 1897, p. 377.</ref> One can detect a "voluntaristic tendency" in Wundt's theory of motivation, in contrast to the currently widespread cognitivism ([[intellectualism]]). Wundt extrapolated this empirically founded volitional psychology to a [[metaphysical voluntarism]]. He demands, however, that the empirical-psychological and derived metaphysical voluntarism are kept apart from one another and firmly maintained that his empirical psychology was created independently of the various teachings of metaphysics.<ref>Wundt: System der Philosophie, 1919, Volume 1, p. IX f.</ref>

Wundt interpreted intellectual-cultural progress and biological evolution as a general process of development whereby, however, he did not want to follow the abstract ideas of [[entelechy]], [[vitalism]], [[animism]], and by no means [[Schopenhauer|Schopenhauer's]] volitional metaphysics. He believed that the source of dynamic development was to be found in the most elementary expressions of life, in reflexive and instinctive behaviour, and constructed a continuum of attentive and apperceptive processes, volitional or selective acts, up to social activities and ethical decisions. At the end of this rational idea he recognised a practical ideal: the idea of humanity as the highest yardstick of our actions and that the overall course of human history can be understood with regard to the ideal of humanity.<ref>Wundt: Ethik, 1886, p. 577.</ref>
[[File:Portraitbüste 0686-90 F22838.jpg|thumb|{{center|Wilhelm Wundt portrait bust by [[Max Klinger]] 1908}}]]