Between Philosophy and History; The Resurrection of Speculative Philosophy of History Within the Analytic Tradition.

Article says about process of the development theory historical narrative during second half XX – XXI centuries. Attention is paid on questions of the connection between the historical narrative and past reality and on the influence subject-objective attitude in the process demonstration of the historian's research results. Article concerns the transformation of the perception by theoreticians of history the connection between texts and the past reality. Research of the theory of historical narrative begins with a review of vision in the analytic tradition the connection between historical text and the past, what he researches. Emphasize on the logical-deductive element of formation the historical research results, considering the specific of perception the problem by analytics. Building on the achievements of analytical philosophy of history article says about the postmodern narrative theory of history, which was formed by H. White. Research of this theory based on connection with analytic tradition; traces the common roots of both directions and difference between them. Attention is paid on the poetic element of the historical narrative.

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Peter Munz and Historical Thought

Journal of the Philosophy of History ◽

10.1163/18722636-12341467 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 378-394

Author(s):

Frank Ankersmit

Keyword(s):

Daily Life ◽

Later Life ◽

Philosophy Of History ◽

Historical Knowledge ◽

Historical Interpretation ◽

Speculative Philosophy ◽

The Past ◽

Scientific Laws ◽

Covering Law ◽

Historical Thought

Abstract Few philosophers of history ever recognized the profundity of Peter Munz’s The Shapes of Time that came out in 1977. In this book Munz upheld the view that no part or aspect of the past itself provides us with the solid fundament of all historical knowledge. For him, the historian’s most fundamental logical entity is what he calls the Sinngebild. The Sinngebild consists of two events defined and held together by a covering law. These CL’s can be anything from simple truisms, the regularities we know from daily life to truly scientific laws. But ‘underneath’ these Sinngebilde there is nothing. Hence, Munz’s bold assertation: ‘the truth of the matter is that there is no ascertainable face behind the various masks every story-teller is creating’ and his claim that his philosophy of history is ‘an idealism writ small’. Next, Munz distinguishes between ‘explanation’ and ‘interpretation’. We ‘explain’ the past by taking seriously the historical agent’s self-description and ‘interpret’ it by stating what it looks like from our present perspective. ‘Explanation’ and ‘interpretation’ may ‘typologically’ be more or less similar. Relying on a number of very well-chosen examples from his own field (Munz was a medievalist), this enables Munz to argue why one historical interpretation may be superior to another. In his later life Munz developed a speculative philosophy of history inspired by Popper’s fallibilism.

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