Sekularizace, eschatologie a idea pokroku podle Hanse Blumenberga

This article deals with the polemics of the German philosopher Hans Blumenberg with the theory of secularization. Secularization theory explained the origin of many modern ideas as an unauthentic derivative of original religious content – this included the idea of progress, which, for example, Karl Löwith interpreted as secularized eschatology. The paper presents two levels of Blumenberg's argumentation: Firstly, Blumenberg opposed the methodological foundations of the theory of secularization which he identified as the so-called substantialist conception of history. This conception presupposes the existence of a persisting historical substance which passes through the ages with only slight accidental changes. According to Blumenberg, this approach is mistaken because there is no such historical substance. As an alternative approach, Blumenberg introduced his dialogical functionalism. Secondly, Blumenberg suggested an alternative interpretation of the origins of the idea of theoretical progress, which was later extended and transferred to the whole of history. Although it is possible to raise a number of objections aimed at the details of Blumenberg's conception, his ideas still remain a fascinating and inspiring example of an historical approach to philosophy.