History as a Science

Saurav Kishor School of Historical Studies

Critical Reading in Historical studies Module 1

Biography – R.G.Collingwood A British Philosopher, Historian and archaeologist He is best known for his philosophical works including The

Principles of Art and the posthumously published The Idea of History.

Born February 22, 1889, Cartmel Fell, United Kingdom He Stated that the human must be examined historically

rather than psychologically.

As per the R.G.Collingwood’s Views…. • Collingwood held that history could not be studied in the same way as natural

science because the internal thought processes of historical persons could not be perceived with the physical senses, and past historical events could not be directly observed.• He pointed out a fundamental difference between knowing things in the present

(or in the natural sciences) and knowing history.• He maintained that historians must use their imaginations to reconstruct and

understand the past. Because human events that have already taken place cannot be observed, he argued that they must be imagined.• History can’t proceed without philosophical presuppositions of a highly complex

character. It deals with evidence, and therefore makes epistemological assumption as to the value of evidence.

History is a narrative Text, Written in the present, about the Subject of the Past, using

evidence that the past has left behind

History Helps Us Understand

People and Societies In the

first place, history offers a

storehouse of information

about how people and

societies behave.

History is ... a dialogue between

the present and the past.

It is the study of Past, specially

how it related to humans

significance ; a search which is

grounded in the application of

recognized standards of evidence,

inference, and sound practice.

What is History

??

It as an inquiry using the scientific

method of verifiable and repeatable

empirical testing of hypotheses

it as an inquiry aiming

to get as close as

possible to truth,

rather than mere

opinion

A search for the laws of nature

What is Science ??

Science doesn't yet "prove" much about morality and ethics, but it

does provide a lot of useful information, and is getting closer

all the time.

What is Science? A better answer – science is a disciplined attempt to find out: • what exists E.g. people, fleas, clouds, rivers, atoms, sub-atomic particles, molecules, poverty, wars, minds, emotions, computational processes in computers, genes, species, niches, ecosystems... • how things work E.g. how molecules of atoms and of hydrogen can be transformed into molecules of water, how centripetal force produces circular or elliptical motion, how an egg develops into a chicken, how humans generate grammatical sentences (sometimes). • why they work as they do This usually requires appeal to do a deeper theory. Usually mathematics is required to derive precise consequences from a deep theory.

How are science and History related ??

• Science is the method of understanding the natural world and History part of the natural world.

• Discoveries in science make history, and without history, you would have to start things from scratch each time instead of picking it up where it was last left.

by An Anonymous

References • https://www.quora.com/Is-history-a-science-Why • http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2005-09-05-karlsson-en.html • http://www.springer.com/in/book/9789400743113