Photo by historyhd from unsplash
Abstract:This paper explores how Blumenberg narrates the history of modernity as a second overcoming of Gnosticism. This detour through late antiquity illuminates the full meaning of his idea of modernity.… Click to show full abstract
Abstract:This paper explores how Blumenberg narrates the history of modernity as a second overcoming of Gnosticism. This detour through late antiquity illuminates the full meaning of his idea of modernity. Blumenberg develops important methodological insights about historical change, the threshold between epochs, etc. that appear in The Legitimacy of the Modern Age. We see the central role of the interpretation of Gnosticism but also of New Testament eschatology. Both are conceived as historical catalysts that provoke modernity's emergence but remain alien to its result. Thus the references to Gnosticism and surrounding contemporary discourses are essential for Blumenbeg's account of modernity.
Journal Title: Journal of the History of Ideas
Year Published: 2019
Link to full text (if available)
Share on Social Media: Sign Up to like & get
recommendations!