Modern man sees with one eye of faith and one eye of reason

Meaning in History: The Theological Implications of the Philosophy of History 

~ Karl Lowith (Author) Editorial Reviews - Product Description

Modern man sees with one eye of faith and one eye of reason. Consequently, his view of history is confused. For centuries, the history of the Western world has been viewed from the Christian or classical standpoint—from a deep faith in the Kingdom of God or a belief in recurrent and eternal life-cycles. The modern mind, however, is neither Christian nor pagan—and its interpretations of history are Christian in derivation and anti-Christian in result. To develop this theory, Karl Löwith—beginning with the more accessible philosophies of history in the nineteenth and eighteenth centuries and working back to the Bible—analyzes the writings of outstanding historians both in antiquity and in Christian times. "A book of distinction and great importance. . . . The author is a master of philosophical interpretation, and each of his terse and substantial chapters has the balance of a work of art."—Helmut Kuhn, Journal of Philosophy 

About the Author - Karl Löwith (1897-1973) was professor of philosophy at Heidelberg University, Germany. 

An introduction to the philosophy of History, August 29, 2001 By      "moredean" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

Prof. Lowith's work provides a wonderful introduction into the philosophy of History. Beginning in contemporary times with Jakob Burkhardt and working back to the beginning of the current era with the Bible - and including Marx, Hegel, Vico, and Augustine (among others) - Lowith argues that the immanentization of the historical world, giving meaning to history, in short, the philosophy of history originated with the Judeo-Christian eschatological framework: the salvation man sought at the end of life through faith in God and Christ is placed instead at the End of History, when humanity, as a whole, will reach a sort of "perfection" (an anti-Christian belief in my opinion).
Each thinker's approach to the understanding of history is explained, as well as his conception of the End of History. Whether you agree with Prof. Lowtih's main thesis-that the philosophy of history originates in Judeo-Chrisitian eschatology-or not, this work will be enlightening to anyone interested in the philosophy of history, theology, the history of Western philosophy, historicism, or just history in general.