ABSTRACT
The development of coherent theories of human history has essentially been a lengthy process: the attempt below to distinguish it from the general progress of human thought is inevitably provisional, and the principles on which it is based are open to criticism. Elements of coherent historical theories can sometimes be found where it seems that an inadequate conception of the world is totally dominant. There were many premises for the establishment of coherent historical constructions towards the end of the 18th century. Positivism was a natural successor to the theories of the Age of Enlightenment and rejected philosophy which was not based on knowledge and facts. Theoretical propositions indicative of attempts to develop a coherent set of views are barely visible within the general intellectual context, and can be classified as rudiments of a new theory only very conditionally.
