Reply to Historicism

Philosophy ◽  
1946 ◽  
Vol 21 (80) ◽  
pp. 245-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. H. Heinemann
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Urgent Problem ◽  
Human History ◽  
Historical Knowledge ◽  
The Past ◽  
State Of Nature ◽  
Sequence Of Events

History has become a real and urgent problem. It harasses us in a double form, theoretical and practical, corresponding to the double meaning of the term “history” as either “a sequence of events in time” or “our knowledge of past events”. The first concerns our attitude to human history. We somehow suffer from “historical indigestion”. We may have mastered Nature, but we have certainly not yet mastered History. Therefore it threatens to dominate us. The mass of past events is too much for us and for our memory, too many dates, too many facts, too many interesting or indifferent happenings. We cannot even keep pace with, or realize, all the important events which fill our own times, like world-wars, revolutions, counter-revolutions, inflation and deflation, with all the misery they imply. Consciously or unconsciously we feel ashamed of the human record, of the amount of cruelty, destruction, murder, and martyrdom inflicted on innocent beings. In spite of all this we cannot escape History. All the great events affect every human being. Moreover, historical knowledge permeates our education and is disturbingly growing from year to year, more in detail and in specialization than as a co-ordinated whole. We may react to this situation in one of three ways: (1) by filling our brain with this unco-ordinated mass of historical knowledge, and submerging our personality in it, (2) by becoming specialists and disregarding problems other than our own, (3) by ignoring the past altogether, and falling back into the state of nature and barbarism. We have witnessed all these solutions and their disquieting results.

“Big History” Old and New: Presuppositions, Limits, Alternatives

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 306-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allan Megill
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Innovative Approach ◽  
Human History ◽  
Comparative History ◽  
Historical Knowledge ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of ◽  
Big History

In recent years David Christian and others have promoted “Big History” as an innovative approach to the study of the past. The present paper juxtaposes to Big History an old Big History, namely, the tradition of “universal history” that flourished in Europe from the mid-sixteenth century until well into the nineteenth century. The claim to universality of works in that tradition depended on the assumed truth of Christianity, a fact that was fully acknowledged by the tradition’s adherents. The claim of the new Big History to universality likewise depends on prior assumptions. Simply stated, in its various manifestations the “new” Big History is rooted either in a continuing theology, or in a form of materialism that is assumed to be determinative of human history, or in a somewhat contradictory amalgam of the two. The present paper suggests that “largest-scale history” as exemplified in the old and new Big Histories is less a contribution to historical knowledge than it is a narrativization of one or another worldview. Distinguishing between largest-scale history and history that is “merely” large-scale, the paper also suggests that a better approach to meeting the desire for large scale in historical writing is through more modest endeavors, such as large-scale comparative history, network and exchange history, thematic history, and history of modernization.

scholarly journals Thinking about relations: Strathern, Sahlins, and Locke on anthropological knowledge

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 327-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Social Contract ◽  
John Locke ◽  
The State ◽  
Cultural Relativism ◽  
Trading Zone ◽  
Natural Laws ◽  
The Past ◽  
State Of Nature ◽  
The Social

John Locke is known within anthropology primarily for his empiricism, his views of natural laws, and his discussion of the state of nature and the social contract. Marilyn Strathern and Marshall Sahlins, however, have offered distinctive, novel, and broad reflections on the nature of anthropological knowledge that appeal explicitly to a lesser-known aspect of Locke’s work: his metaphysical views of relations. This paper examines their distinctive conclusions – Sahlins’ about cultural relativism, Strathern’s about relatives and kinship – both of which concern the objectivity of anthropological knowledge. Although Locke’s own views of relations have been neglected by historians of philosophy in the past, recent and ongoing philosophical discussions of Locke on relations create a productive trading zone between philosophy and anthropology on the objectivity of anthropological knowledge that goes beyond engagement with the particular claims made by Sahlins and Strathern.

scholarly journals “INSTINCT, THAT VOICE OF GOD” ROUSSEAU’S INFLUENCE ON KANT’S INTERPRETATION OF THE GENESIS

1969 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikiko TANAKA
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of History ◽  
The State ◽  
Human History ◽  
Garden Of Eden ◽  
Human Reason ◽  
State Of Nature ◽  
The Voice

In my paper I investigate Rousseau's influence on Kant's interpretation of the Genesis and his philosophy of history. In his essay Conjectural Beginning of Human History Kant interpreted the Genesis from the perspective of the conflict between natural instinct and human reason, i.e. the conflict between the theological doctrine and his philosophy of reason. Opposing Rousseau's opinion that man is entirely satisfied with living according to natural instinct, Kant claims that reason should overcome instinct, which he considers to be the voice of God. Man, therefore, should step out of the state of nature (the Garden of Eden) by his own reason, as Kant regards the release from the rule of instinct and the transition to the guidance of reason as the beginning of human moral history.

scholarly journals E-4 Political and Diplomatic Strategies of World Leaders and the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) (An Analytical Study)

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 29-36
Author(s):  
Sohail Akhtar ◽  
Abdul Razaq
Keyword(s):  
Analytical Study ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Human History ◽  
Political Tactics ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Status ◽  
First Time

Allah Almighty sent Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) as the last Prophet for the guidance of humanity. But sent Him as a model for human being in all discipline of life. The life of the prophet was a real example for the entire mankind in the all discipline of life. Whether he is a teacher or as a commander, as a ruler or as a head of the family, as a preacher or as a judge, no one seems second to you. In the same way, like other matters, he also gave guidance in political matters. For the first time in human history, truth was made a part of politics. The Prophet (peace be upon him) is the only person in history whose every action has been considered as the source of growth and guidance for humanity. Not only is there an example for people in every aspect of the Prophet's life, but the secret of success lies in following him. Like other aspects of life, where the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has the status of a king and a general and a conqueror, he is the founder of an Islamic state. As the ruler of the state of Madinah, the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) used all the political strategies necessary for the management and administration of the state. This research paper highlights the political tactics and strategy of the Prophet (peace be upon him) as world best politician.

HISTORY AND THE HISTORICAL IN AN ERA OF CHANGE

2021 ◽  
pp. 12-19
Author(s):  
Aleksandr R. Akramov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Turning Points ◽  
The State ◽  
Historical Knowledge ◽  
The Past ◽  
Knowledge And Attitudes ◽  
The Social ◽  
Political Forces ◽  
Characteristic Features ◽  
Cultural Structure

The article is an attempt by the author to address the basic issues of the development of history and historical knowledge in the era of turning points and changes. The article discusses the issue of actualizing historical knowledge during periods of changes in the social, political, cultural structure of the state. The author defines the characteristic features for the development of history and historical knowledge in the era of turning The article is an attempt by the author to address the basic issues of the development of history and historical knowledge in the era of turning points and changes. The article discusses the issue of actualizing historical knowledge during periods of changes in the social, political, cultural structure of the state. The author defines the characteristic features for the development of history and historical knowledge in the era of turning points. He singles out fear of the past as the first and one of the main elements of comprehension and rethinking of the past. The past, according to the author, at such moments has the property of becoming a landmark in the developing the social and political forces. The denial of history and the historical is also one an element in the development of history in an era of change. A return to indefinite values charac- terizes the era of transitions, and a number of additional questions arise related to the acceptance of ideas or their interpretations in the present. The author is inclined to believe that during the changes there is arise in the understanding and concept of that the present is a projection of our past, what to a greater extent affects the increase in the relevance of the object under study. The mechanisms of actualizing historical knowledge and attitudes towards history have been little studied in the scientific literature and require addi- tional involving the historians researchers into the theme since that directly affects our present.

Histories of authority in the African Great Lakes: trajectories and transactions

Africa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 90 (5) ◽  
pp. 952-971
Author(s):  
Marie-Eve Desrosiers ◽  
Aidan Russell
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Political Authority ◽  
The State ◽  
Historical Knowledge ◽  
African Great Lakes ◽  
The Past ◽  
The 1960S

AbstractThis article reflects on how scholars have engaged with the past and with notions of authority in the African Great Lakes. A dominant ‘presentist’ perspective on the region mobilizes historical knowledge in an uncritical fashion, reducing authority to a set of historical clichés and building on a familiar focus on crises and the state. Bridging history and political science, we propose two concepts to analyse histories of political authority to unsettle presentist biases: trajectories and transactions. To illustrate the contribution these alternative lenses make, we present two historical vignettes. First, we revisit the 1973 coup in Rwanda as an ambiguous trajectory of authority-making and unmaking. Then, we consider languages of praise and petitioning in Burundi in the 1960s, to show how authority is lived, manifested and challenged through local transactional relations.

scholarly journals The Nature of the State of Nature: Hobbes, Sovereignty and Biopolitics

Politik ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Ask Popp-Madsen
Keyword(s):  
Political Thought ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Giorgio Agamben ◽  
Disciplinary Power ◽  
Political Subject ◽  
State Of Nature ◽  
Conception Of Man

The large amount of theoretical debates over the notion of biopolitics originally emerges from Michel Fou- cault’s discussions of sovereignty, disciplinary power and biopolitics. Here, biopolitics is conceptualised as a qualitatively di erent and modern regime of power developed in contrast to the model of sovereignty. e ultimate theorist of sovereignty in the canon of Western political thought is omas Hobbes, and in Leviathan two important transitions for the sovereign model takes place: the human being transcends his animal-like condition and becomes a subject, a transition from the image of homo homini lupus to the image of the political subject, and the relation between human beings changes from the of war of all against all to the politics of the state, thus the possibility of politics emerges. Interestingly, as the concept of biopolitics is developed against the backdrop of this theory of sovereignty, both Michel Foucault and Giorgio Agamben delivers detailed interpretations of Hobbes’ state of nature. By analysing these interpretations, the article tries to understand the emergence of a distinctively biopolitical conception of man and the political in contrast to the conceptions in the paradigm of sovereignty. 

What Future for Inequality?

2021 ◽  
pp. 449-462
Author(s):  
Jon D. Wisman
Keyword(s):  
Great Depression ◽  
The State ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Human History ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Great Depression ◽  
Laissez Faire

Because the struggle over inequality is the principal defining issue of history, it will also be the defining issue of humanity’s future. This concluding chapter briefly surveys reasons for pessimism and optimism concerning future inequality. On the side of pessimism, since the rise of the state 5,500 years ago, elites have almost always taken all of producers’ surpluses, leaving them with bare subsistence. Only partial delegitimation of elites’ ideology during the Great Depression led to 40 years of political measures reducing inequality. The resurgence of laissez-faire ideology and inequality over the past 45 years does not inspire optimism. Yet enormous progress has been made over the course of human history, and especially in the past several centuries. This has been especially impressive in the development of science and human critical faculties which privilege rule by reason. This book goes to press amidst growing awareness of inequality’s unfairness and negative consequences.

scholarly journals Natural triangle of best weather: Anapa (former Turkish fortress) – Temryuk (possession of the Kabardian prince Temryuk (Temroko) Idarov – Taman (ancient Tmutarakan).

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 25-52
Author(s):  
Nikolay F. Bugay ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Meteorological Station ◽  
The State ◽  
Observation System ◽  
Urgent Problem ◽  
Effective Work ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of ◽  
Weather Stations ◽  
Atmospheric Phenomena ◽  
Weather Service

The state of the hydrometeorological network in any state, its effective work in solving the urgent problem of creating conditions for ensuring the country's security is also a vivid evidence of the ability and capabilities of the state itself in organizing the effective work of services necessary to support comfortable living conditions for the population. Scientists studying the history of various kinds of services in the state, in relation to the weather service, pay more attention to the past periods, connected to a large extent with the history of the emergence of a particular service, the provision of trained specialists, the provision of the economic side of the services. If we turn to the weather service, then, undoubtedly, the question of the formation of labor collectives at the meteorological station and other structures of the weather service should be put in the first place. The work of teams of specialists in modern conditions should not be disregarded. It is certainly associated with the past, with the traditions that were laid down by past generations and are carefully preserved for different weather stations. In general, they continue to develop and improve the methods of work of teams, rely on the scientific base, created technologies for observing and processing the data obtained, which met the requirements of the time in the past, and the formed base of observations of atmospheric phenomena. The article focuses primarily on the organization of the work of weather service specialists in modern conditions, which makes it possible to clarify many aspects of the process of organizing the activities of the observation system both in the regions of Russia, as well as on the scale of the state as a whole.

Implications

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl Widerquist ◽  
Grant S. McCall
Keyword(s):  
Property Rights ◽  
The State ◽  
Natural Property ◽  
Government Failure ◽  
State Of Nature ◽  
Best Response ◽  
Lockean Proviso ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Taking Action ◽  
Disadvantaged People

Earlier chapters of this book found that the Hobbesian hypothesis is false; the Lockean proviso is unfulfilled; contemporary states and property rights systems fail to meet the standard that social contract and natural property rights theories require for their justification. This chapter assesses the implications of those findings for the two theories. Section 1 argues that, whether contractarians accept or reject these findings, they need to clarify their argument to remove equivocation. Section 2 invites efforts to refute this book’s empirical findings. Section 3 discusses a response open only to property rights theorists: concede this book’s empirical findings and blame government failure. Section 4 considers the argument that this book misidentifies the state of nature. Section 5 considers a “bracketing strategy,” which admits that observed stateless societies fit the definition of the state of nature, but argues that they are not the relevant forms of statelessness today. Section 6 discusses the implications of accepting both the truth and relevance of the book’s findings, concluding that the best response is to fulfil the Lockean proviso by taking action to improve the lives of disadvantaged people.

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