Journal of the History of Ideas

Around the end of the 1940s, a number of German philosophers debated the connection between modernity and eschatology. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, eschatology is the theological doctrine concerned with the end of history and the salvation of human existence. This paper explains how the reference to the pre-modern phenomenon of eschatology can teach us something about the nature of secular modernity. In this respect, I elaborate on the works of Karl Löwith and Jacob Taubes. I argue that their eschatological theories of modern thought essentially entail an interpretation of the epochal role of evil in the modern age.