Abstract
According to Hegel there is an inner connection between the modern state and philosophy, which lies in the actuality of one and the same rationality. Therefore philosophy and (modern) politics share the same orientation on universality. In this they are opposed to forms of nationalism in which particularity is the guiding principle (Part 1. Shared Universality). Nevertheless this alliance has its limits. An analysis of Encyclopedy § 552 (the transition from objective spirit to absolute spirit) shows that politics remains characterized by elements of particularity. Genuine universality lies beyond the limits of politics. World history which shows the finite nature of any political order, is itself sublated in the absoluteness of philosophy (Part 2. The Finiteness of Politics). In philosophy since Hegel, this sublation of history appears as something that can no longer be thought. Yet „World's court of judgement” (Weltgericht) of the history of the world, affects not only the many states, but also the many philosophies. The thought of W. Dilthey is a typical illustration of this idea (Part 3. Beyond the Limits of Politics). This movement, in which philosophy becomes something particular and historically relative, undergoes a specific change in the thought of M. Heidegger. In his interpretation, the project of philosophy as such (and not just this or that philosophy) is something particular. This follows from Heidegger's concept of metaphysics. His interpretation of Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit is a good illustration of this. The finiteness, which in Hegel's philosophy is overcome, is in Heidegger's view not the fundamental finiteness (Part 4. Beyond the Limits of Philosophy?). The article concludes with some reflections on the relation between thinking and experience which could perhaps help to understand this peculiar fate of philosophy (Part 5. Experience and Thinking)