Modernity as Theodicy: Odo Marquard Reads Hans Blumenberg's The Legitimacy of the Modern Age

Especially in the second part of The Legitimacy of the Modern Age, Hans Blumenberg considered philosophical modernity through a reflection on theodicy. Theodicy even appeared here as constitutive for modernity, although this philosophical project of defending God against the existence of evil had been challenged several times in the past centuries. This role of theodicy in Legitimacy has been emphasized by Blumenberg's readers, particularly Odo Marquard. This article shows how debates on modernity and theodicy actually played a more central role in the early reception of Blumenberg's book than his debates with Karl Löwith or Carl Schmitt on secularization.