Osoba jako wyznacznik procesu dziejowego

Abstract

Herbert Butterfield begins his historical investigations with the premise that history is not a mere collection of material facts. History of its nature requires a category of continuity. He suggests that human personhood is this „key" which insures the development of the historical process. Man, however is limited in his nature, a fact which postulates a reference to God which fulfills his personhood. The human person is viewed as the contact between eternity and temporality, a dimension necessary for the fullness of history. God created man in his own image. This, his creature is free, albeit not absolutely so. Since the dynamism of history is rooted in the dynamism of personhood itself, history cannot be determined. It developes freely and leads the human race to its final fulfillment, which is Christ himself.