The Historical Present as a Philosophical Problem. A Genealogical Approach

Abstract

What kind of historical scenery do we face in reality when we venture to critically cross-examine our present-day social and cultural reality? How can one define the historical “present time”, what boundaries does it encompass, who qualifies as its appropriate subjects, and how can it be effectively conceptualized? What were the theoretical and cultural influences that gave rise to the use of this concept, how did the cataclysmic experiences of the 19-20th century shape its development, and what intellectual legacy does this idea carry for us today?

The talk will follow certain Foucauldian genealogical guidelines to explore these questions. I will argue that the practice of critical reflection on the historical interval of “present time” is a relatively recent invention which became an influential philosophical genre in European thought during the late 19th and early 20th century. While the thinkers of the Enlightenment or the German idealist tradition were no strangers to dealing with the question of “modern time” contrasted with the world of the past, late European modernity discovered the analytical potential and critical value of the idea of contemporaneity in itself. The talk aims to examine the intricate context in which the ideas of thinkers such as Simmel, Croce, Spengler, Lukács and the early Heidegger were formulated, and which still play a significant role in informing our understanding of the issues related to the historical present.