PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

“End of history” theories came in many shapes in the last decades of the previous century. Just as many shapes as do the various claims about the revival of history in midst of the political turmoils and human-induced environmental crises of the new century. This article argues that neither “end of history” theories nor their counterparts are able to adequately capture the contemporary shapes of historical thought due to the fact that they both consider the idea of “history” in solitary confinement. Based on the contention that ideas can properly be understood only in relation to other ideas, the article will outline a transformation of historical thought by sketching a change in the relation between the ideas of “the end of history” and the “end of the world.” After highlighting the modern constellation in which claims about the end of history were typically accompanied by the view that the world continues to exist, it will explore the rather curious contemporary constellation in which history is expected to continue even after the world is expected to come to an end.