Herder's basic thought

In On the Origin of Language, Holder insists that the rise of eloquent language is due to nature, not supernatural power. In this way, he made great contributions to modern academic linguistics. In addition, Holder believes that the growth and decline of human beings and nature follow the same law, so he regards history as the organic evolution of all human beings, which is manifested in the development of unique cultures of all ethnic groups. Among them, the revolutionary movement in the historical view is also an indispensable element of historical evolution. He also advocates that the development of local cultures of all ethnic groups produces a "national spirit" expressed in art and literature. For Holder, the concept of "national spirit" does not mean that any nation is superior to other nations; On the contrary, he strongly advocates that all cultures are equal and have their own values. (Excerpted from Encyclopedia Britannica, v. 13, page 540- 1)

In the aspect of historical philosophy, Herder is one of the main successors of Vico. Holder tries to seek the unchangeable historical law in the changeable historical facts, and thinks that the so-called historical law is determined by three factors: the regional situation and needs, the times and their opportunities, and the inherent characteristics of people. Time, space and national characteristics determine the face of history. Holder not only recognizes and respects the creation of each generation, but also emphasizes the non-repetition and natural evolution of historical development. He also discovered and affirmed the inheritance of history from the achievements of generations, and roughly divided human history into three stages, namely, poetry stage, prose stage and philosophy stage. In Herder's view, the essential purpose of human beings is human nature, the purpose of historical evolution is the realization of human nature, that is, the realization of rationality and justice, and the completion of human nature is the final result of historical development.