The Shadow of God: Kant, Hegel, and the Passage from Heaven to History

Michael Rosen's book explores how modern and secular ways of seeing the world were profoundly shaped by religion, particularly the German Idealists who sought to reconcile reason and religion. He argues that conceptions of historical immortality moved into universalistic ideologies of liberalism and revolutionary socialism but also into nationalist and racist doctrines. The book questions how we can retain faith in any conception of shared moral progress in the face of global wars and genocide.

Format: Hardback
Length: 416 pages
Publication date: 24 June 2022
Publisher: Harvard University Press

The notion that our lives were once confined by religion and that we were subsequently liberated from the darkness of faith by the cold light of science and reason is a common one in the West. To be modern was to embrace the secular and rational, rejecting the religious. However, as Michael Rosen reveals in his bold retelling of philosophical history, this narrative is far from complete. Many modern and seemingly secular ways of seeing the world were, in fact, profoundly shaped by religion.

The German Idealists, in particular, played a significant role in this exploration. These thinkers sought to reconcile reason and religion, recognizing the importance of both in shaping our understanding of the world. Central to Kant's philosophy was the idea that if God is both just and assigns us to heaven or hell for eternity, we must know what is required of us and be able to choose freely. Kant argued that by living moral lives, we are engaged in a collective enterprise as members of a "Church invisible" working together to achieve justice in history.

As later Idealists moved away from Kant's ideas about personal immortality, the notion of "historical immortality" took center stage. This idea refers to our ability to maintain a kind of presence after death through social projects that outlive us. Conceptions of historical immortality were not limited to universalistic ideologies such as liberalism and revolutionary socialism but also found their way into nationalist and racist doctrines that opposed them.

However, the question remains: how can we retain faith in any conception of shared moral progress after global wars and genocide? This is our present predicament. The Shadow of God is a profound exploration of secular modern, challenging our assumptions and illuminating the ways in which religion continues to influence our worldviews, even in the most seemingly secular of contexts.

Weight: 684g
Dimension: 167 x 242 x 39 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780674244610