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Philosophers on Historical Evidence
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Aristotle
Believed in empirical evidence and observation as the basis of knowledge.
Voltaire
Criticized the religious interpretation of history; emphasized the use of reason and evidence.
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Saw history as a dialectical process; less focused on empirical evidence, more on the unfolding of the World Spirit.
Karl Marx
Regarded historical materialism as the framework for understanding historical evidence; focused on social and economic factors.
Leopold von Ranke
Emphasized the importance of primary sources for accurate historical accounts.
Thomas Kuhn
Although not purely a historian, he proposed that the history of science is marked by paradigm shifts rather than a linear accumulation of evidence.
Michel Foucault
Analyzed the role of power in shaping historical narratives; was less concerned with traditional notions of evidence.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Questioned objective history and the motives behind historians' selection of evidence.
R.G. Collingwood
Argued that historical evidence must be understood in context, and that historians should reconstruct the thoughts and experiences of historical figures.
Jules Michelet
Emphasized the importance of bringing historical characters to life using evidence; history as a resurrection of the past.
Herodotus
Often considered the 'Father of History', he collected information from various sources, emphasizing the inquiry aspect of history.
E.H. Carr
Believed history is constructed from the historian’s perspective and that facts are inseparable from the historian's values and agenda.
Paul Veyne
Viewed history as a narrative or representation of the past, acknowledging the role of interpretation over mere collection of evidence.
Thucydides
Aimed for accuracy and impartiality in reporting historical events, relying on direct observation and accounts of eyewitnesses.
Marc Bloch
Co-founder of the Annales School, which emphasized total history and the integration of evidence from various disciplines.
Fernand Braudel
Stressed the study of long-term historical structures using varied types of evidence, rather than just political events.
Simone de Beauvoir
While not a historian, her existentialist philosophy implies the need to understand actions and events within the broader context of human freedom and oppression.
Hannah Arendt
Her works on totalitarianism show the intricacies of historical events and the importance of understanding the context of actions and decisions made.
G.W.F. Hegel
Historical facts were seen as less important than philosophical interpretation to understand the progress of the World Spirit.
Edward Hallett Carr
Insisted that history is an unending dialogue between the past and present and that evidence must be interpreted through this lens.
Ibn Khaldun
One of the early thinkers to emphasize a scientific approach to history and sociology, underscoring the importance of societal evidence in historical narratives.
Stephen Toulmin
His model of argumentation suggests that conclusions are based on evidence, which fits into a broader view of assessing historical claims.
Peter Novick
Argued that objectivity in history is neither possible nor desirable; historians’ selection of evidence is influenced by their societal context.
Joan Wallach Scott
Believes that historical evidence should be examined through the lens of gender as a primary factor of social organization.
Hayden White
Suggested that the content of history is as much determined by the nature of the evidence as by the historian's narrative approach.
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