Karl Lowith 1897 – 1973
Karl Lowith was a German philosopher and a student of Husserl and Heidegger. His doctoral thesis, completed under Heidegger, was followed by a long period of exile in Italy, Japan, and the United States after the rise of National Socialism. His Meaning in History and From Hegel to Nietzsche developed the influential thesis that the modern philosophy of history is a secularization of Christian eschatology, and that the modern attempt to find meaning in history is a transformed version of the religious hope it tried to leave behind. He returned to Heidelberg in 1952.
Key facts
- Nationality
- German
- Era
- Contemporary
- Movements
- Continental
Selected quotes
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Attributed to Karl Lowith:
“Modernity is secularized eschatology.”
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Attributed to Karl Lowith:
“Meaning in history is a theological residue.”
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Attributed to Karl Lowith:
“Nature has no need of human meaning.”
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Attributed to Karl Lowith:
“The progressive idea of history depends on the Christian idea of providence even when it denies it.”
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Attributed to Karl Lowith:
“Without God, history is a meaningless succession of events.”