UID:
edocfu_9958353185802883
Format:
1 online resource
ISBN:
9781442620971
Series Statement:
Joanne Goodman Lectures
Content:
By nature, human beings seek to make sense of their past. Paradoxically, true historical explanation is ultimately impossible. Historians never have complete evidence from the past, nor is their methodology rigorous enough to prove causal links. Although it cannot be proven that 'A caused B,' by redefining the agenda of historical discourse, scholars can locate events in time and place history once again at the heart of intellectual activity.In Past Futures, Ged Martin advocates examining the decisions that people take, most of which are not the result of a 'process,' but are reached intuitively. Subsequent rationalizations that constitute historical evidence simply mislead. All historians can do is to locate them in time, to explain not why a decision was taken, but why then? To illustrate, Martin asks a number of questions: What is a 'long time' in history? Are we close to the past or remote from it? Is democracy a recent experiment, or proof of our arrival at the end of a journey through time? Can we engage in a historical dialogue with the past without making clear our own ethical standpoints? Although explanation is ultimately impossible, humankind can make sense of its location in time through the concept of 'significance,' a device for highlighting events and aspects of the past. In so doing, Martin suggests a radical new approach to historical discourse.
Note:
Frontmatter --
,
Contents --
,
Acknowledgments --
,
1. Redefining History at the Centre of Debate --
,
2. History versus the Past --
,
3. The Impossibility of Explanation --
,
4. The Moment of Decision --
,
5. Past Futures --
,
6. A Long Time in History --
,
7. Significance --
,
8. Objections, Review, and Tailpiece --
,
Notes --
,
Index --
,
Backmatter
Language:
English
DOI:
10.3138/9781442620971
URL:
https://doi.org/10.3138/9781442620971
