Burke - Western Historical Thinking in a Global Perspective - 10 Theses.pdf

Western Historical Thinking in a Global Perspective- 10 Theses PETER BURKE The historical thought to be examined in this paper is concentrated on the assumptions ofworking historians and the implications oftheir practices. How- ever, it also refers from time to time to philosophers of history. Indeed, given more space, time and knowledge, I would have liked to have extended the topic even further, to include everyones perceptions of the past, or in the use- ful phrase of Bernard Guenee, the historical culture of the West. 1 Unlike some earlier historians, Hans Baron for example, I shall not be referring to the awakening of historical thought at a particular moment (in his case, the early Renaissance). 2 Nor will I be assuming or arguing, like Hegel, that historical thought or historical consciousness is a monopoly ofthe West. On the contrary, interest in the past appears to have existed everywhere and in all periods. All the same, since people from different cultures have different concep- tions oftime and space, and since European cultural and social movements such as the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Enlightenment, Romanticism and positivism all had important consequences for historical thought and writing, it is only to be expected that European historical writing is distinctive. The problem lies in specifying that distinctiveness. Consider how many historical works have been written over the centuries, from Herodotus to the present, in how many European languages. Consider that to discuss what is distinctive in European historical thought it is also necessary to have a good knowledge of other historiographical traditions, such as the Chinese, Japanese, Islamic, African, indigenous American, and so on. No wonder that virtually no one has tried to