The Philosophy of History

Building on “Historical Methods and Sources,” this course introduces students to the philosophy of history, i.e., the philosophical inquiry into the meaning, nature, and validity of historical experience. After surveying earlier attempts, we shall focus on a distinctively German tradition of regarding history as a coherent, meaningful process oriented towards some ultimate aim, which to elucidate is the philosophy of history’s task. Here we shall read selections from Kant, Herder, Humboldt, Hegel, Schlegel, and Marx. We shall be especially concerned with identifying the theological sources of this tradition.