History as a Form of Knowledge

Since Troeltsch, Meinecke and Koselleck, 'history' as a form of knowledge (seeing and understanding all being as a result of its past) is considered to be the fundamental mental paradigm of cultural modernity as decisively formed in the long eighteenth century. Its practical relevance is manifold and wide reaching: thinking historically has since directed political legitimization strategies, measures of aesthetic value, methods in the humanities, as well as identity management of modern subjects. Recent research traces the development of history as a form of knowledge above all in relation to theoretical historical and philosophical texts. Yet the practical foundations and consequences of historical thought in its various fields of application (historiography, literature, the arts, the public sphere) have been neglected. Drawing connections between the developmental phase and the current crisis phase of historical thought termed 'post-modern' provides a second innovative accent to the project.

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