Istorijos samprata Prancūzų personalizmo filosofijoje
The Concept of History in the Philosophy of French Personalism

Summary/Abstract: The article focuses on the theoretical and historical origins of the philosophy of history of French personalism. It argues that the personalist concept of history came into being as a theoretical response to the overwhelming crisis of Western capitalist civilization and Christianity which reached its culmination during the Thirties of the last century. The unprecedented and unexpected events that were taking place in France and many other European countries made the traditional Christian vision of history outdated and incapable of explaining in an adequate way the dramatic changes in Western societies. The leading figures of the French personalist movement sought to establish a new conceptual framework allowing them to explore the deepest roots of the civilizational and religious crisis and giving the opportunity to make more reliable predictions about the future prospects of modern civilization. They were the first Catholic thinkers to give up the speculative approach to history and to analyse it on the basis of concrete historical experience. The following part of the article focuses on two key terms, “historical experience” and “historical discourse”, which were to become the basis of personalist thinking on history as well as the starting point of the whole concept of history in the philosophy of French personalism.

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