The role of the 'plan of nature' in Kant's account of history from a philosophical perspective

This paper provides an interpretation of Kant's controversial attempt to explain historical progress through reference to a hidden 'plan of nature'. After identifying the problems that confront existing reconstructions of this argument, I argue that Kant does not speculate about a mysterious natural agency that shapes history, but rather invites us to reflect about what we may hope in our political and moral endeavours given what we know about ourselves as historical agents. An important advantage of this interpretation is that it allows Kant's account of 'philosophical history' to be integrated within his larger critical project