What is History? An Introduction into the Theory of History Prof. Dr. Georgi Verbeeck Maastricht University FASoS Department of History

History? ”things that happened in the past” res gestae “investigating the things that happened in the past” historia rerum gestarum

The Appeal of History? Historia magistra vitae? The Past as a Foreign Country?

History of Historical Writing Antiquity (Herodotus – Thycidides) Rome : in service of the Empire Middle Ages Renaissance and Early Modern Times Enlightenment and Romanticism

Foundations of Modern History Writing  ‘bloss zeigen, wie es eigentlich gewesen …’  Historical-Filological Method (written sources)  Zeitgeist and Volksgeist  Paradox within Historicism Relativism versus Determination Leopold von Ranke (1795 – 1886) Leopold von Ranke (1795 – 1886)

Methodenstreit in the German Historical Sciences  Historicism versus Positivism  “…wie es eigentlich geworden ist…”  Sozial- versus Politikgeschichte  Materialism - Marxism Karl Lamprecht (1856 – 1915) (1856 – 1915)

Writing History : How? 1. Facts 2. Knowledge 3. Interpretation 4. Explanation

1. Facts Problems of determination

2. Knowledge  Empiricism (induction) –Francis Bacon  Rationalism (deduction) –René Descartes

3. Interpretation (a) “King Louis was murdered by the mob.” “Citizen Capet was sentenced to death and executed.” “The French Revolution meant the end of the Old Regime.”

3. Interpretation (b) “Auschwitz was a unique event in the history of mankind.” “Auschwitz was a normal event in the history of mankind.”

Explanation 1: Cause  Positivism (Auguste Comte) –Covering Law Model (CLM)  Probabilism

Explanation 2 : Intention  Hermeutics  Verstehen (empathy)  Problems of determining intentions

Explanation 3 : Narrative  Narrativism  Gustav Droysen, Johan Huizinga  Modernism and Postmodernism

Anachronism