Category:Theories of history
The theory of history or History ( from the Latin ars historica = Historical Art [teaching ] ) and explaining the basics of the science of history. They must be distinguished from the source-based historical research, history didactics and philosophy of history.
Please do not include particular historical and philosophical theories about the course or meaning of the whole story (of Augustine of Hippo, Immanuel Kant, Karl Marx up to Theodor Lessing and Francis Fukuyama ), which are also often referred to as theories of history.
Development
The theory of history began in ancient literature as rhetorical- didactic teaching of history, for example, in Plutarch. In medieval times, a story of worldly things against the more dignified from a Christian perspective hagiography had to justify, so in Einhard in confrontation with Sulpicius Severus. The theoretical discussion strode through the Enlightenment and historicism continues to methodology of historical research and the epistemology of historical thinking. They also integrated parts of the philosophy of history. Already Wilhelm Wachsmuth published in 1820 a theoretical design, the fundamental work of German historicism but is Johann Gustav Droysens History ( 1857).
Friedrich Nietzsche's The Use and Abuse of History for Life ( 1874) has in his criticism of a too strong historicist world view, which he accused the contemporary historicism ( " idolatry of the factual " ) asked the central question of the lifetime achievements of science. Only the critical view of history allows the load of the remembered story shake again and again. For him, the story is close to art. In the present day are close to this position discourse theories such as Michel Foucault and Paul Veyne. However, many historians oppose a resolution of the past in a mere construction, including Eric J. Hobsbawm. The relevance of history arises from the inevitable for the human presence of the past.
For the German development after 1945, the state division led to controversy between Marxist and so-called "bourgeois " historiography in East and West. The legality of the history and the partiality of the historian were the focus. A review is given to Karl -Georg Faber. Within the West German debate, the Bielefeld School represented the need theory of empirical historical research to theory skeptics such as Konrad Repgen. She also asked for an enlightening role of history against historical myths and for the revealing of the specific conditions or against their tacit setting, such as the primacy of foreign policy. In the 1970s and 1980s, a working group dealt with historical-theoretical questions in the next Jürgen Kocka especially Thomas Nipperdey and Reinhart Koselleck emerged (see literature). Also, research has been stimulated on the history of historiography. In the 1980s, Jörn Rüsen developed in several volumes, a new theory of history about the foundation Droysen, which was also taken up in the didactics of history.
" No history without sources! " Against Marc Bloch sat in his Apology of history and Jacques Le Goff in history as: The French historiography, such as Fustel de Coulanges, was based in the late 19th century in the German historicism with positivist critique of sources Science: the profession of the historian as representatives of the Annales school the compulsion to random selection, the right of the historical imagination beyond the written sources, arising from the new questions, and the first studied in archeology "silent sources ". There is only " zones of silence" that must be reconstructed without traditional sources with quantitative or literary methods on many topics such as witches or parties. Le Goff wanted to create a historical anthropology with wide issues.
On the Italian Giambattista Vico took theory of history and the 20th century Benedetto Croce big impact. In the Anglo -Saxon philosopher Robin George Collingwood should be mentioned with the philosophy of history (1946 ) and Edward Hallett Carr and professional historians Eric Hobsbawm J.. The American Hayden White has emphasized the narrative of history as their basic structural feature in contrast to other social sciences.
Today, include the postmodern debates about the history of mentalities, the memory theory and its implications for oral history, (eg Harald Welzer ), and the discourse theories of their implications for the study of history, the linguistic turn (eg Hayden White ) or more recently, the iconic turn with the explosive proliferation of the source material and the new cultural history to the "hot" topics.
What story?
Alfred Heuss 1959 lamented the loss of history as a form of power in post-war Germany. A note on private hobby is not sufficient to justify such a school subject is history. Can we learn anything from history ( historia magistra vitae )? Does the tradition more or the right to renewal? Without a doubt, historical research can straighten prejudices and historical legends critical. You can individuals or groups a variety of offers of identity and group membership make ( nation, region, gender, layer ... ), but is already open whether identity formation is possible by history, if at the same time acts its critical function. The legitimacy of a social order will draw on historical arguments in general, the historical experience led to the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich for the Basic Law.
The representative of the Bielefeld School, Jürgen Kocka has summarized the social functions of history 1975:
- Historical explanation of current problems by uncovering their causes and development (for example, anti-Semitism )
- Mediation of model categories and insights of political education for the knowledge and guidance in the present
- Legitimation and stabilization of social and political power relations, justification of political decisions (eg Revolution celebrations of the USA 1976 and France 1989)
- Traditions and ideological criticism, criticism of historical myths and legends (eg stab )
- Creating a possibility of consciousness by liquefaction of the present, pointing out alternatives
- Orientation of individuals and groups in their presence, and by demonstrating the Buried, Non- current
- Education for concrete and critical thinking against hasty absolute formulas, insight into the relativity of historical and political perspectives
- " Purposeless " pastime, entertainment, pleasure
Condition factors of historical knowledge
Jörn Rüsen ( 1983-89 ) has five factors that require historical knowledge, summarized in a disciplinary matrix:
- Orientation needs in the present,
- Conducting respects the human past,
- Methodological procedures,
- Forms of representation,
- Functions of general orientation.
Problem areas
Major problems of the theory of history are by Karl -Georg Faber (1971 ):
- Definition of History
- Individual and General
- Causality and chance
- Historical laws and necessity
- Type and structure
- Understanding and explanation (historical hermeneutics )
- Language and literary forms of historiography (eg Hayden White )
- Value judgments and norms
- Objectivity and impartiality
- Knowledge and Human Interests
In the border area of the philosophy and
- Conception of man ( anthropology )
- Sense of historical science