Rosenzweig’s Elements and Universal History

Abstract This paper uses Rosenzweig’s conception of the three elements of God, World, and Human from The Star of Redemption in a model of universal history. The model also has some relation to Rosenzweig’s geopolitical essay, Globus, which is very different from the meta-historical Star . Based on a systems-theoretic schema of events and processes, the model views human history in terms of three linked processes: a primary process labelled “World” – the origin and development of human society embedded in nature, a secondary process labelled “God” – the origin and development of the Axial religions and philosophies, and a tertiary process labelled “Human” – the origin and development of modernity. The model asserts an interdependence between these processes that resembles the interdependence of the elements and relations in The Star . However, the scope of The Star extends from a Creation that is outside of time to a Redemption that is also outside of time. By contrast, the processes in the model are fully natural. Although the model is scientific in character, it affirms religious significance in history. Adopting a perspective in between the transcendence of The Star and the immanence of Globus , the model complements Rosenzweig’s thought by offering a coarse-grained view of the past and of the global hazards of the present historical moment.