[German Version]

The term philosophy of history was coined by Voltaire, who published in 1765 his Philosophie de l’histoire (ET: The Philosophy of History, 1766). He was determined to present an objective, ¶ phenomenal study of history, based on natural human reason, instead of the hitherto dominant theology of history (History, Theology of), for which J.-B. Bossuet had created a monumental apotheosis in his Discours sur l’histoire universelle (1681; ET: Discourse on Universal History, 1976), conceived to reflect God’s guidance of history. Bossuet was the foil agains…