The central place in the work of Troelch is the analysis of the understanding of the idea of ​ ​ historical development in the works of philosophers and historians who set themselves the task of creating a universal history. This extensive essay on the formation of the idea of ​ ​ historical development from its origin in Hegel's dialectics up to modern Trölcu philosophical schools can be considered as having an independent value. Troelch, justifying the formulation of the problem in his work, closely connects it with criticism of Rickert's theory, and concludes by considering the relationship between history and the theory of knowledge in their interconnected connection.