Ernst Troeltsch and the Spirit of Modern Culture

Ernst Troeltsch (1865–1923) war Theologe, Religionshistoriker, Kulturphilosoph und Politiker. Er trat ein für die der Aufklärung entstammenden Grundlagen der Moderne, wusste zugleich um die historistische Relativität aller Normen und suchte gleichwohl liberale Prinzipien kulturell zu implementieren. Troeltschs Denken ist ein bleibender Orientierungspunkt für gegenwärtige Debatten um Religion, Kultur und Politik. Die Troeltsch-Studien Neue Folge bündeln Forschungen zu Ernst Troeltsch in historischer und systematischer Perspektive und verbinden dies mit Untersuchungen zur Gegenwartsbedeutung seines Erbes.

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Ernst Troeltsch was a theologian and sociologist but he was also a philosopher of culture. He was concerned with the "spirit of the modern world" throughout most of his academic life and chose to investigate a number of critical issues which he believed were especially problematic for the modern world. This book is an exploration of many of the key issues. It begins with an explanation of what Troeltsch believed the "spirit of the modern world" to be and then to explaining the debt that Troeltsch owed to Friedrich Schleiermacher for an understanding of the modern world. Chapters are then devoted to Troeltsch's investigations into issues such as the relationship between church and state, the role of natural law, the problems of historicism and pessimism, and it concludes with his observations about politics in war and in revolution. This work will be of interest to those concerned with understanding the modern world.