Abstract
Largely based on the theoretical insights provided by the German historian Reinhart Koselleck in the multivolume 'Geschichtliche Grundbegriffe' [Historical concepts] (1972-92), discusses the role of historical knowledge and historical consciousness as a source for both ideologically oriented and pragmatic policies, which must be considered as two different answers to the same problem, the 19th-century opinion that acts can have unintended and unforeseen consequences - termed the "Heterogonie der Zwecke" after Wilhelm Wundt (1830-1920).