(in Polish) Philosophy of History 3800-PH26-M-OG

Philosophy of history, as a branch of practical philosophy, is one of the most fundamental
parts of modern intellectual history. It primarily consists of the reflection on the regularities in
history (speculative philosophy of history) and of the inquiries concerning the proper method
of historical studies (methodologically-oriented philosophy of history).
In this class, we will pursue a selective, chronological way of presenting the relevant
doctrines. We will begin with the Ancient Greco-Roman concept of historical cycles,
according to which history has neither a beginning nor an end and is just a circular repetition
of analogous epochs. Plato’s generational theory of the change of the forms of government
from the Republic will shed light on this subject. Later, we will introduce the Judeo-Christian
concept of linear history, in which both the beginning and the end became clearly determined:
initially through religious revelation, then through philosophical speculation. To explore this,
we will engage with Augustine’s City of God – a work that introduces the concept of the aim
of the historical process, at least for the church (understood as the society of true Christians).
Such a concept will be key to understanding the philosophy of history - also in the modern
era. We will move to it next, observing how it developed a secularized view of historical
regularities, stemming from different philosophical subdisciplines (e.g., ethics, teleology,
speculative logic), and even non-philosophical sciences (e.g., economics, biology). Beginning
with Vico, we will see how the old cyclic concept of history got modernized as a subject of
“new science” concerned with human affairs. Vico – in contrast with Plato and Augustine –
sees history not only as a product of external forces (universe or God’s providence), but also
of human initiative. Herder, Kant, and Hegel will direct us once again on the linear trail, each
looking in his own way for the possibility of tracing some progress in history. Subsequently,
Cieszkowski will show us that the mainstream Hegelian approach is limited by its
concentration on the past and the present, and he will argue that this closes the possibility of
substantial contribution to human progress from outside the West. Marx, on the other hand,
will stand up as a spokesman of the economically marginalized classes. Wilhelm von
Humboldt will be an advocate of the empirical historians, more interested in facts than
regularities. The 20 th Century marks an important change of the mainstream narrative within
Western philosophy: from progressive triumphalism to catastrophism or the pessimistic
Marxism of critical theory. Oswald Spengler will employ the biologistic metaphors in his
return to the concept of historical cycles – and will proclaim the “decline of the West”; Walter
Benjamin will seek inspiration from Judaistic messianism, putting hope in some external,
maybe even mystical factor. Finally, our last class will be devoted to the recent philosophical
theories of history that are focusing on the problem of the possibility of determining the
nature of the end of times: Francis Fukuyama will propose that the liberal democracy is the
last stage of human development and Catherine Malabou will look for new ways to make use
of the human ability to form new historical aim, the human “plasticity”.
 
The plan of the semester (each subject corresponds to a single class):
1.      Plato, The Republic
2.      Augustine, The City of God
3.      Giambattista Vico, The New Science
4.      Johann Gottfried von Herder, Outlines of a Philosophy of the History of Man (or Oldest
Document of Humankind)
5.      Immanuel Kant, The Conflict of the Faculties
6.      G.W.F. Hegel, Elements of the Philosophy of Right
7.      G.W.F. Hegel, The Philosophy of World History
8.  August Cieszkowski, Prolegomena to Historiosophy
9. August Cieszkowski, The Desire of All Nations (English title of Ojcze nasz, literally Our
Father)
10.  Karl Marx, Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right
11.  Oswald Spengler, The Decline of the West
12.  Walter Benjamin, Theses on the Philosophy of History
13. Ernst Bloch, The Principle of Hope
14. Francis Fukuyama, The End of History?
15. Catherine Malabou, Plasticity: The Promise of Explosion