Historicism and Its Problems: The Logical Problem of the Philosophy of History

by Ernst Troeltsch

Publisher:

Fortress Press

, 2024

Overview

This is a translation of Ernst Troeltsch’s last (1923) major work. It is an exhaustive study of the methods of historiography and of German, French, English, and Italian philosophies of history during the nineteenth century. It is motivated by the purpose of developing the proper concept of historical development, for overcoming “bad” historicism (i.e., unlimited relativism) with “good” historicism (with relativity, not relativism), and determining how values drawn from history can be used to shape the future. It concludes with a sketch of the unwritten second volume on the material philosophy of history.

Key Features

• Provides a translation of Ernst Troeltsch’s last (1923) major work.
• Includes a study of the methods of historiography.
• Concludes with a sketch of the unwritten second volume on the material philosophy of history.

Contents

• Analytical Table of Contents
• A Note about the Translation / David Reid and Garrett E. Paul
• Acknowledgments / David Reid and Garrett E. Paul
• Foreword / Hans Joas
• Introduction / Garrett E. Paul
• Preface / Ernst Troeltsch
• 1. The Reawakening of the Philosophy of History
• 2. Criteria for Assessing Historical Phenomena and Their Relation to a Present-Day Cultural Ideal
• 3. The Concept of Historical Development and Universal History
• 4. The Structure of European Cultural History
• Glossary
• Bibliography
• Index

Product Details

• Title: Historicism and Its Problems: The Logical Problem of the Philosophy of History
• Author: Ernst Troeltsch
• Publisher: Fortress Press
• Print Publication Date: 2024
• Logos Release Date: 2025
• Pages: 860
• Era: era:modern
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Subjects: History › Philosophy; Christianity › Historiography
• ISBNs: 9798889831419, 9798889831402
• Resource ID: LLS:HSTRCSMTSPHLHST
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2025-12-06T20:31:56Z

About Ernst Troeltsch

Ernst Troeltsch (1865–1923) was an important German Protestant theologian and philosopher. He studied at Erlangen, Berlin, and Göttingen, before becoming a lecturer at Göttingen in 1890. In 1892 he became a junior professor at Bonn, then professor of systematic theology at the University of Heidelberg in 1894, where he taught until 1915. From 1915 through the end of his life, he was professor of philosophy at the University of Berlin. Troeltsch is remembered as an advocate of consistent methodological separation of exegesis and systematics, and he is considered one of the great figures of the Religionsgeschichtliche Schule, whose influence is felt to this day.