Telling the truth: Heller as philosopher of history and personality. (December 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Terezakis, Katie
• Is Part Of: Thesis eleven. Volume 125:Number 1(2014:Dec.)
• Page Start: 16
• Page End: 31
• Publication Date: 2014-12
• Subjects: Authenticity -- character -- contingency -- ethics -- existentialism -- Ágnes Heller -- history -- personality -- responsibility -- self-choice -- wager; Social sciences -- Philosophy -- Periodicals; 301
• DOI: 10.1177/0725513614555566
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0725-5136

Abstract

In this essay, I reconstruct Heller's philosophy of history, arguing both that Heller's position presents a serious intervention into modern theorizing about historical patternicity and that Heller's position should be understood as a valuable hybrid, uniting her existential, ethical, and pragmatic bodies of work. For Heller, history is implicated indissolubly in the personal and ethical decision-making of individual actors. I conclude that Heller undermines postmodern claims about the relativism of history and scientific progress, notwithstanding initial appearances to the contrary.