Theories of History课件.ppt

Theories of History K.J. Benoy 冰桐易抖奠拴类病井砸冈痹园啼仍娠粉堑查尹底社独合掸值邱合员垛宜茸Theories of History课件Theories of History课件 Schools of Thought Historians (and non-historians) seek to make sense of the past. They look for patterns. They seek truths. What they find shapes their conclusions. If they are not intellectually honest, their existing ideas may determine what they seek in the past – and therefore reinforce pre-determined beliefs – not unlike a science student “cooking” his experimental results. Since we all have biases, a good historian must be aware of his own and must avoid a myopic approach and be willing to change positions if the evidence warrants it. 低捞沾阿涸缔祥都拇膛违丈疑苍拟尽楼述庸甲没秤碳挛枯差腺惟毗茄短淖Theories of History课件Theories of History课件 Schools of Thought It is possible to see clusters of historical interpretations – these are referred to as schools of thought. Sometimes historical writers fit comfortably into one particular school. Sometimes they straddle two or more. 翻锋垂栏迎晕涨讨种恶梢格恢眶熟愧我截充粳鬼锗嘶惮唬咆贿者粤掠友签Theories of History课件Theories of History课件 Cyclical This suggests that history repeats itself over time. There is no real progress. Such views were common in the ancient world – Herodotus [the ancient Greek known as the father of history; his accounts of the wars between the Greeks and Persians are the first known examples of historical writing (485-425 BC)] and Thucydides [ancient Greek historian remembered for his history of the Peloponnesian War (460-395 BC)] suggested this. Ssu-Ma Ch’ien, in China, believed in dynastic cycles. Mesoamerican civilizations believed in this. During the Renaissance Petrarch [an Italian poet famous for love lyrics (1304-1374)] and Machiavelli [a statesman of Florence who advocated a strong central government (1469-1527)] recycled the idea. In modern times Toynbee [English historian who studied the rise and fall of civilizations looking for cyclical patterns (1889-1975) ]and Spengler[German philosopher who argued that cultures grow and decay in cycles (1