No Concepts without Experience

Space of experience (Erfahrungsraum) and horizon of expectation (Erwartungshorizont) are key concepts in Koselleck's theory of history. One of his best-known essays, written in 1976, is devoted to these empirical–historical premises. For him, they are anthropological presuppositions that, as formal categories of knowledge, constitute the possibility of history. The article analyzes the origin, appropriation, and use of these terms in the work of the Bielefeld historian and relates them to the concept of primary experience (Primärerfahrung), which refers mainly to sensory and physical dimensions. As the article shows, the sociological theories of Karl Mannheim prove to be influential in the genesis of Koselleck's Historik, although they are rarely mentioned in his texts.