The 1400 page Lexikon der Geisteswissenschaften (Encyclopedia of the Humanities) offers a co

mplete overview over all relevant concepts, disciplines and leading thinkers on the field in a global perspective. As the recent development of the field requests, the term “humanities” is conceived in a decisively inter- and transdisciplinary manner, integrating the concepts of “Geisteswissenschaften” , “Cultural Sciences” with parts of the “Social Sciences”.  The characteristics of this encyclopedia are its future oriented approach, which not only summarizes the current situation of the field, but also inserts original research on avantgardistic topics. Special attention is being paid to the future of the foundations and of the practical relevance of the modern humanities, i.e. to the foreseeable development of Enlightenment, Rationalism, Humanism, Democracy and other concepts of societal emancipation in the 21^st century.