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January 03, 2005

History; historicism; historiography; proper history; philosophy of history (White Chs. 4-5)

In Chapter 4, White's use of terms such as proper history, historiography, history, and historicism becomes for me especially aggravating. The problem derives, I believe, from White's assumption that he is writing to an audience of experienced historians who will understand what he means by these terms, even when his meanings undergo occasional shifts. Here I'll venture my own definitions of a few of his key terms:

  • By history, I think he means historical discourse that produces concrete chronicles and data.
  • By historicism, I think he means historical discourse that produces widely applicable explanatory principles.

    In Chapter 5, though, some terms that he has defined and redefined begin to come together for me:

  • Proper history is that which is authorized by the discipline of history--with all the limitations that implies. Proper history claims to deal exclusively with facts; it suppresses its fictions and assumptions.
  • Philosophy of history, on the other hand, makes its fictions and assumptions explicit.

    It seems that he often uses "history," "historiography," and "proper history" interchangeably and may use "historicism" and "philosophy of history" as synonyms; but I'm not sure this is completely accurate or consistent.

    Posted by senioritis at January 3, 2005 09:13 PM

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