The history of philosophy and secularization

On philosophy’s theological genealogy

Abstract

Writing the history of philosophy to some extent also implies expressing a certain philosophy of history. This article discusses a particular case of this dialectic, namely how one has related modern philosophy to pre-modern theological philosophies when writing the history of philosophy during the 20th Century. Is the emphasis put on the continuity or the interruptions between the two traditions, and what are the philosophical motives and presuppositions behind either view? The article's focus is on the so called Löwith-Blumenberg debate – where Karl Löwith has defended a continuity between theology and philosophy in his famous "thesis of secularization", whereas Hans Blumenberg has argued for a radical autonomy of the modern philosophical and scientific project. In my conclusion I take the stand of Löwith and argue that a too strong accent on the interruption between the Jewish- Christian theological heritage and the modern project tends to nurture the modern ideal of philosophical presuppositionlessness.