Hans Blumenberg : l’eschatologie désamorcée

In the fourth chapter of the Legitimacy of the Modern Age, Hans Blumenberg develops a critical approach to the “secularization’s theory” by using Rudolf Bultmann’s History and Eschatology. The concept of eschatology plays a decisive role in this controversy, considering Blumenberg’s attempt to replace the scheme of the secularization of Christian eschatology in the philosophy of history by his own one, the Umbesetzung (reshuffle). This article proposes a critical appraisal of Blumenberg’s analysis of eschatology in the Legitimacy of the Modern Age, showing the partiality of Blumenberg’s interpretation of Bultmann and to what extent this critique of secularization, which actually attacks Karl Löwith, is not very convincing. Focusing on the political meaning of eschatology, this article further stresses the surprising proximity between Blumenberg and Löwith regarding the neutralization of eschatology, as well as the general limits of the secularization debate.