When Did Modernity Begin?

On Heidegger, Prophets, and Genesis

Periodization—the apportioning of time’s flow into epochal chunks—is the bugaboo of historians. Dividing time into periods may be even harder than dividing the earth into nation states. Within this general problematic, defining modernity may be the most difficult.

Common answers to “When did modernity begin” include:

• The Protestant Revolution

• The Enlighte…