What is History

1
What is History?

• How do we determine past events?
• Can we determine any meaning from these events?

2
Historical Rationalism

• Belief that a pattern can be found in past events
• Some believe that a number of patterns can be
  found, others believe that only one pattern
  exists
• e.g. patterns of war

3
Historical Irrationalism

• Belief that no patterns are present, and
  historians impose patterns to account for what
  changes occur

4
Theories of History

• When historians explain the past they are
  interpreting historical fact. The way they
  interpret this fact (we will return to this
  concept in the next class) rests upon the theory
  of the nature of history that is held

5
Ancient Greek Historians

• Belief in two key concepts
• CYCLES Historical events proceed over a long
  period of growth and decline and back to another
  period and decline through eternity
• Visions of a brighter future based on golden age
  of the past
• FATE The order of the progression of cycles is
  fate, man can do nothing to change this

6
Mediaeval Christian Historians

• Introduced idea that historical process is moving
• Teleological view of history meaning and
  purpose given to history, although not secular
• Attainment of goal of history would mean the end
  of history
• History is the fulfillment of Gods will
• God has foreknowledge of each event in history
  PREDESTINATION

7
The Enlightenment

• Enlightenment values teleological view but
  secularised the goal
• History is progress towards the goal of
  perfecting mans estate on earth

8
Immanuel Kant

• History is the unfolding of the rational plan
  resident in nature
• There is a natural order and purpose in nature,
  hence there is order and purpose in the nature of
  mans reason and will
• The establishment of a permanent social order is
  the highest task set for man by nature

9
G W F Hegel

• The Dialectic each event (thesis) generates its
  opposite (antithesis) resulting in a synthesis
  that absorbs both in a higher unity. This is the
  way history progresses
• Man is not necessarily aware of this process, but
  his (rational) action fulfils this purpose
  (compare with Adam Smiths invisible hand
  theory)
• Hence progress is inevitable

10
Karl Marx

• History is the record of class conflict
• This passes through four stages until it reaches
  the fifth (desirable) stage of the socialist
  communist state

11
Five stages of history

• Stages of history
• Primitive the original communist state that was
  ended by the rise of private property
• King-Slaves the struggle between kings and
  slaves led to aristocracy
• Feudal the struggle between nobles and serfs led
  to capitalism
• Capitalism the struggle between owners and
  workers leads to socialism
• The Socialist Communist State!

12
Oswald Spengler

• Cyclical view of history where cultures mature
  and decline through a cycle of four epochs (rise
  and fall)
• Childhood agriculture and conquest
• Youth expansion and discovery
• Maturity cities and commerce
• Old age and death quantity not quality, utility
  not art, skepticism not optimism

13
Arnold Toynbee

• Rejected Spenglers theory of rise and fall
• Instead, the meaning of historical events is
  interpreted in terms of challenge and response
• Civilisations are the result of a successful set
  of responses to the challenges faced by society

14
E.H. Carr

• When we attempt to answer the question What is
  history? our answer, consciously or
  unconsciously, reflects our own position in time,
  and forms part of our answer to the broader
  question what view we take of the society in
  which we live.
• (E.H.Carr, What is History?, p.8)

15
20th century interpretations
Many models of interpretation gained (and lost)
popularity

• Economics
• Politics/Power
• Technology
• Ideology/Beliefs
• Culture, i.e. Religion, Values

• Social Gender, Race, Ethnicity, Class
• Environment
• Psychology/Emotion
• Sexuality

16
Your task

• To integrate knowledge of theories that have
  preceded you to provide the most considered
  response to a certain series of events
• Most historians no longer rely on one method of
  analysis, but give some sort of hierarchy to
  their choice of causes
• However, you may still hear a historian being
  described as Marxist or feminist this is
  something to be aware of