THE ORIGINS OF MODERN HISTORICAL CONSCIOUSNESS, 1822-1848: HEGEL'S PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY AND ITS CRITIQUE BY RANKE AND MARX

This dissertation describes the origins of modern historical consciousness in the writings of Hegel, Ranke, and Marx between 1822 and 1848. Hegel's Philosophy of World History is shown to be the foundational work of modern historical consciousness. The criticisms of this work by Ranke and Marx establish the rival paradigms of historicism and Marxism as the two principal forms of modern historical consciousness after Hegel.; Modern historical consciousness is defined as that mode of historical thought and writing which combines universal scope with empirical content and practical (moral/political) intent. It is shown that this form of historical thought is distinct from both Enlightenment philosophical history and contemporary academic historiography. Modern historical consciousness differs from Enlightenment philosophical history in having substantial empirical content and in propounding an historical conception of human nature. It differs from contemporary academic historiography in its universal scope and in its practical/ideological effects.; The writings in which modern historical consciousness is formulated are: (1) Hegel's Lectures on the Philosophy of World History, given at the University of Berlin from 1822 to 1831; (2) Ranke's theoretical critique of Hegel (in occasional writings and lectures) and his History of the Popes and German History in the Age of Reformation, all written between 1831 and 1843; and (3) Marx's critique (in various early writings) of Hegel's philosophical history, along with the early world histories which he wrote with Engels in the German Ideology and the Manifesto of the Communist Party (both between 1843 and 1848).; Chapters 1 and 2 describe Hegel's philosophical history and suggest its epistemological viability in the light of contemporary theories of historical narrative. Chapters 3 and 4 discuss the origins of historicism and Marxism, respectively, in Ranke and Marx's critiques of Hegel's world history. It is shown how these critiques accentuated different tendencies in Hegel's works, and in so doing, established the two primary approaches in contemporary historiography. Chapter 5 characterizes the origins of modern historical consciousness from 1822 to 1848 as a whole. The ontological foundations of modern historical consciousness are described, and their relation to the contemporary crisis of historical knowledge are discussed.