In his far-reaching investigations of Western intellectual history, Hans Blumenberg (1920-1996) varied a fundamental idea: On one side stands the meaninglessness and ruthless dominance of the real world, comparable to an absolutist sovereign. Opposing it is the weak and powerless, yet inventive human being, who is entirely consumed by the task of relieving himself from this arbitrary rule through cultural distancing efforts. Beyond all scientific knowledge, he cannot escape the question of the meaning of his existence amid the meaningless universe.