Affirmation of the eternal present. Notes for the study of historical time in the thought of Víctor Massuh

Abstract

This writing addresses the conception of History in the thought of Víctor Massuh, philosopher from Tucunán, Argentina. We begin by giving an account of the link that according to him history has with eschatology, historical time with eternity. First, we establish his vision about different eschatologies. Then, entering the field of historical time, we present his vision of human drama as constant agony, together with his claim for creative freedom above all fatalism (tragic optimism). This leads, thirdly, to deepen this idea of creative freedom, which our author takes from Alejandro Korn. The text is interrupted by a brief excursus to put in the category “future-centrism”, a characteristic of modernity studied by Reinhart Koselleck. Next, we proceed to analyze Massuh's critique of the oversizing of the future offered by modern philosophies of history. Then, it is exposed how Massuh reproves the nihilist straying and its denial of all historical time. In the next step his insistence on living time as a whole is exhibited, recovering the past and the future for the present (rooted thinking). Present that, we conclude, wants to be an eternal present: such is the meaning of history for Massuh.