 It is true in the following sense. There is indeed no grand metaphysical theory underpinning Herder’s position—no Platonic theory of forms, no correlation of political institutions with “moments” in a Hegelian Logic, no “deduction” of political institutions from the nature of the self or the will à la Fichte or Hegel, or whatnot. But that is quite deliberate, given Herder’s skepticism about such metaphysics. And is it not indeed philosophically a good thing?