Benjamin Constant’s history of philosophy

Abstract

The article analyses the concept of a prominent representative of early French Romanticism, considers his division of the historical process into periods and his idea on the meaning of history. According to Constant, history is not uniform in a political sense. The lack of understanding this important truth by the rulers has always brought untold sufferings to their subjects. Constant’s philosophy of history is based on the idea of improving the human race, typical for the intellectual culture of the Age of Enlightenment, to which he gave a new sound, contraposing the spirit of war with the spirit of trade. Distinguishing between two types of freedom, he associated the first variety with the tradition of ancient people’s assemblies, collective direct decisions, and the second with the system of representative government. His periodization of world history concretizes the idea of progress as a fundamental law of nature. He included psychological elements into his interpretation of the meaning of revolutionary events. Treating inequality as the basis of social adversity, he attributed independence in deeds, choice of life’s priorities, personal security, the right to own property, and the ability to express and defend different opinions as the most important human freedoms. Expressed clearly in a number of Constant’s works is the desire to distance himself from the various opposing parties, to appear as an unbiased observer, and a sage guiding his efforts to the common good. This corresponded greatly to the ideal of a philosopher represented on the pages of d’Alembert and Diderot’s famous “Encyclopédie.” At the same time, his doctrine represents a certain rethinking of the Enlightenment legacy, carried out through the lens of the experience of revolutionary times. Hence the demand to limit popular sovereignty, criticism of Russoism, a unique concept of the evolution of religion.