„Cizí“ a „dějinné“: Hranice kultur versus kontinuita dějin

In current methodological discourse there are two competing approaches, on one hand the emphasis placed on discontinuity as a principle of research (earlier forms of our culture are to be studied as the forms of an “alien” culture), yet on the other hand, it also emphasizes that no interpretation can manage without hermeneutics. Yet, hermeneutics is based essentially on the presupposition of (cultural, historical and spiritual) continuity. This study considers relationships between these opposing principles. It simultaneously demonstrates that a reflection of “alien” may have an impact on “historical consciousness” (Geschichtsbewusstsein). However, the nature of this impact does not have to be unequivocal.