Herder, Philosophy and Universal History
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4895769 |
|---|---|
| Authors | William F Bristow (University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, corresponding author), William Bristow (University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 712-727 |
| Publication date | 2025-08-18 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The European Legacy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1084-8770 • E-ISSN: 1470-1316 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/10848770.2025.2525597 |
| OpenAlex | W4412386468 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 14 |
In this article I propose that the tension between two of Herder’s most important contributions to Western thought and culture, the incomparability thesis and the history thesis, is reconciled by Herder’s own innovative project and method of universal history. Whereas the incomparability thesis demands that peoples are known in their uniqueness without comparison to other peoples, the history thesis implies knowing peoples in relation to each other as distinct parts of a universal history of humanity. I interpret Herder’s method and project of universal history as a precursor of Hegel’s project and method of his Phenomenology of Spirit. The comparison between Herder’s and Hegel’s methods and projects shows that Herder’s universal history is a philosophical inquiry—empirical, critical, skeptical, and open-ended—into the meaning and telos of human existence. I propose in concluding that Herder’s innovative practice of philosophy as universal history is a third significant contribution to European thought
Environmental ethics · Epistemology · History of philosophy · Philosophy of history · Universal history · Classics · History · Philosophical Ethics and Theory · Philosophy · Seventeenth-Century Political and Philosophical Thought
| Highly cited | No |
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