The end, the beginning, and the beyond: Eric Voegelin on historical cycles

Abstract

This thesis deals with the role of speculations of historical cycles and other cyclic symbolisms in the political philosophy of Eric Voegelin. They play a crucial role in the development of his understanding of history and consciousness, and precipitate the change in programme between volumes three and four of his magnum opus, Order and Histozy. The first two chapters of the thesis concentrate on the first three volumes of Order and Histozy in order to illuminate the differences between those volumes and the fourth of the work. The final chapter demonstrates how cyclic symbolisms assisted him to develop the concept of historiogenesis. This enabled him to re-articulate his understanding of history, not as a unilinear course, but as a field of being in which time and space are constituents. Cycle theory and cyclic symbolisms are found to be integral components of Voegelin's philosophy of history and consciousness.