Home›Philosophers›Branch of Philosophy›Philosophy of HistoryBranches of PhilosophyPhilosophy of HistoryEpistemologyReference and ClassificationVerifiedThe branch of philosophy that examines the nature of historical knowledge and the meaning and structure of the past, drawing on continental European thought, Anglo-American analytic philosophy, and historiographical practice alike. It asks what history is even made of, individual actions, social structures, periods and civilizations, or large causal processes, and how, if at all, historians can know the past objectively rather than merely construct a narrative about it.FactsPhilosophy of HistoryConnectionsSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsCentral QuestionWell-attestedWhat does history consist of, individual actions, social structures, periods and regions, civilizations, large causal processes, or divine intervention, and how can it be known? 1Key DebateWell-attestedNarrativism against historical objectivism: whether every account of a major historical event is one narrative among several apparently incompatible ones with no rational basis for judging one truer or better supported than another, as narrativists suggest, or whether historians can in principle establish which of two competing accounts is closer to what actually happened. 1DisputedKey DebateScholarly debateWhether history exhibits any overall pattern or direction: philosophers of history from Hegel and Marx to Fukuyama have proposed universal historical patterns, while critics from Karl Popper onward hold that no law-governed pattern of historical development can be established and that such historicism mistakes a narrative for a law. 2Karl Popper's The Poverty of Historicism named and attacked the very idea of a law-governed pattern of history that Hegel, Marx and later Fukuyama each proposed in different forms.Philosophy of HistoryFilter Results17 entriesMovementAllAnalytic Aesthetics (1)Confucian And East Asian Political Thought (1)Contemporary Continental Philosophy (1)Contemporary Liberal And Communitarian Thought (1)Continental And Phenomenological Aesthetics (1)Continental And Phenomenological Philosophy Of Religion (2)Feminist Ethics (1)Islamic Political Thought (1)Marxist And Critical Theory (1)Marxist And Critical Theory Aesthetics (1)Other Philosophy Of Language Traditions (1)Pragmatist Philosophy Of Mind (1)Rationalist Empiricist And Idealist Aesthetics (1)Rationalist Empiricist And Idealist Epistemology (1)Renaissance And Early Modern (2)School of PhilosophyAllDeontology (1)EraAll1332 (1)1463 (2)1724 (1)1857 (1)1863 (1)1866 (1)1883 (1)1889 (1)1892 (1)1897 (2)1909 (1)1924 (1)1941 (1)1951 (1)1963 (1)TraditionAllAnalytic philosophy (1)Analytical Marxism and egalitarianism (1)British Idealism (1)German Idealism (1)Islamic philosophy (1)Kyoto School (1)Neo-Hegelianism (1)NationalityAllCanada (1)Germany (4)Hungary (1)Italy (3)Japan (1)Libya (1)Russia (1)Tunisia (1)United Kingdom (2)United States (2)Influenced ByAllBenedetto Croce (1)Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (2)Karl Marx (1)In GroupAllAnalytic Aesthetics (1)Confucian And East Asian Political Thought (1)Contemporary Continental Philosophy (1)Contemporary Liberal And Communitarian Thought (1)Continental And Phenomenological Aesthetics (1)Continental And Phenomenological Philosophy Of Religion (2)Feminist Ethics (1)Islamic Political Thought (1)Marxist And Critical Theory (1)Marxist And Critical Theory Aesthetics (1)Other Philosophy Of Language Traditions (1)Pragmatist Philosophy Of Mind (1)Rationalist Empiricist And Idealist Aesthetics (1)Rationalist Empiricist And Idealist Epistemology (1)Renaissance And Early Modern (2)Birthplace / RegionAllCanada (1)Germany (4)Hungary (1)Italy (3)Japan (1)Russia (1)Tunisia (1)United Kingdom (2)United States (2)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 17A. Monem MahjoubPhilosophy of HistoryArthur DantoPhilosophy of HistoryBenedetto CrocePhilosophy of HistoryDezső CsejteiPhilosophy of HistoryG.A. CohenPhilosophy of HistoryGeorge Herbert MeadPhilosophy of HistoryGershom ScholemPhilosophy of HistoryGiovanni Pico della MirandolaPhilosophy of HistoryIbn KhaldunPhilosophy of HistoryImmanuel KantPhilosophy of HistoryIsaiah BerlinPhilosophy of HistoryKarl JaspersPhilosophy of HistoryKiyoshi MikiPhilosophy of HistoryMaria BezobrazovaPhilosophy of HistoryPico della MirandolaPhilosophy of HistoryR.G. CollingwoodPhilosophy of HistoryWalter BenjaminPhilosophy of HistoryConnectionsAssociated WithGeorg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Philosophers Well-attested Source History, Philosophy of (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)Karl Marx, Philosophers Well-attested Source History, Philosophy of (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)Philosophy of Archaeology, Branches of Philosophy Well-attested ConnectedArchaeology's core questions of evidence and historical inference are treated as a branch of, or immediate neighbor to, philosophy of history in the live literature (Collingwood himself worked in both).IncludesA. Monem Mahjoub, Philosophers Well-attested Source A. Monem Mahjoub (Wikipedia)Arthur Danto, Philosophers Well-attested Source Arthur Danto (Wikipedia)tier 3Benedetto Croce, Philosophers Well-attested Source Benedetto Croce (Wikipedia)tier 3Dezső Csejtei, Philosophers Well-attested Source Wikipedia: Dezső Csejteitier 2G.A. Cohen, Philosophers Well-attested Source G.A. Cohen (Wikipedia)tier 3George Herbert Mead, Philosophers Well-attested Source Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: George Herbert MeadGershom Scholem, Philosophers Well-attested Source Gershom Scholem, WikipediaGiovanni Pico della Mirandola, Philosophers Well-attested Source Giovanni Pico della Mirandola - WikipediaIbn Khaldun, Philosophers Well-attested Source Ibn Khaldun (Wikipedia)tier 3Immanuel Kant, Philosophers Well-attested Source History, Philosophy of (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)Isaiah Berlin, Philosophers Well-attested Source Isaiah Berlin (Wikipedia)tier 3Karl Jaspers, Philosophers Well-attested Source Karl Jaspers (Wikipedia)tier 3Kiyoshi Miki, Philosophers Well-attested Source Wikipedia: Kiyoshi MikiMaria Bezobrazova, Philosophers Well-attested Source Wikipedia: Maria Bezobrazovatier 2Pico della Mirandola, Philosophers Well-attested Source Giovanni Pico della Mirandola - WikipediaR.G. Collingwood, Philosophers Well-attested Source R.G. Collingwood (Wikipedia)tier 3Walter Benjamin, Philosophers Well-attested Source Walter Benjamin (Wikipedia)tier 2Sources1. History, Philosophy of (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyIntroductionWhat does history consist of - individual actions, social structures, periods and regions, civilizations, large causal processes, divine intervention?Section 3.4Does narrativism force the reader to adopt the view that there are alternative and apparently incompatible narratives about the same major events in history, and there is no rational basis for judging that one account is more true, or better supported by the available evidence, than another?Associated With: Georg Wilhelm Friedrich HegelAssociated With: Karl MarxIncludes: Immanuel Kant, entry: History, Philosophy of, Section 2.2Rousseau (1762a; 1762b) and Kant (1784-5; 1784-6) brought some of these assumptions about rationality and progress into their political philosophiesView the Source2. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophytier 1Stanford University, Center for the Study of Language and Informations.v. Philosophy of HistoryQuote, s.v. Philosophy of HistoryThe concept of history plays a fundamental role in human thought. It invokes notions of human agency, change, the role of material circumstances in human affairs, and the putative meaning of historical events.View the SourceWalter Benjamin (Wikipedia)tier 2WikipediaIncludes: Walter Benjamin, Infobox: main_interestsQuote, Includes: Walter Benjamin, Infobox: main_interestsLiterary theory, aesthetics, philosophy of technology, epistemology, philosophy of language, philosophy of historyView the SourceG.A. Cohen (Wikipedia)tier 3WikipediaIncludes: G.A. Cohen, Infobox: main_interestsQuote, Includes: G.A. Cohen, Infobox: main_interestsPolitical philosophy, ethics, philosophy of history, social theoryView the SourceKarl Jaspers (Wikipedia)tier 3WikipediaIncludes: Karl Jaspers, Infobox: main_interestsQuote, Includes: Karl Jaspers, Infobox: main_interestsPsychiatry, theology, philosophy of historyView the SourceIsaiah Berlin (Wikipedia)tier 3WikipediaIncludes: Isaiah Berlin, Infobox: main_interestsQuote, Includes: Isaiah Berlin, Infobox: main_interestsPolitical philosophy, philosophy of history, history of ideas, ethics, Marxism, modern history, Russian history, Russian literature, RomanticismView the SourceGiovanni Pico della Mirandola - WikipediaIncludes: Pico della Mirandola, Infobox: main_interestsPolitical philosophy, Politics, philosophy of history, history, philosophy of religion, religion, Western esotericism, esotericismIncludes: Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Infobox: main_interestsPolitical philosophy, Politics, philosophy of history, history, philosophy of religion, religion, Western esotericism, esotericismView the SourceR.G. Collingwood (Wikipedia)tier 3WikipediaIncludes: R.G. Collingwood, Infobox: main_interestsQuote, Includes: R.G. Collingwood, Infobox: main_interestsMetaphysics Philosophy of history AestheticsView the SourceArthur Danto (Wikipedia)tier 3WikipediaIncludes: Arthur Danto, Infobox: main_interestsQuote, Includes: Arthur Danto, Infobox: main_interestsPhilosophy of art Philosophy of history Philosophy of actionView the SourceGershom Scholem, WikipediaIncludes: Gershom Scholem, Infobox: main_interestsQuote, Includes: Gershom Scholem, Infobox: main_interestsPhilosophy of religion Philosophy of history Mysticism MessianismView the SourceIbn Khaldun (Wikipedia)tier 3WikipediaIncludes: Ibn Khaldun, LeadQuote, Includes: Ibn Khaldun, LeadHe is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest social scientists of the Middle Ages, and is considered by a number of scholars to be a major forerunner of historiography, sociology, economics, and demography studies.View the SourceInternet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: George Herbert MeadInternet Encyclopedia of PhilosophyIncludes: George Herbert Mead, AbstractQuote, Includes: George Herbert Mead, Abstractto the philosophy of nature, the philosophy of science, philosophical anthropology, the philosophy of history, and process philosophy . Both John Dewey and Alfred North Whitehead considered Mead a thinker of the highest order.View the SourceBenedetto Croce (Wikipedia)tier 3WikipediaIncludes: Benedetto Croce, LeadQuote, Includes: Benedetto Croce, Leadwas an Italian idealist philosopher, historian, and politician who wrote on numerous topics, including philosophy, history, historiography, and aesthetics.View the SourceWikipedia: Dezső Csejteitier 2WikipediaIncludes: Dezső Csejtei, LeadQuote, Includes: Dezső Csejtei, LeadDezső is known for his expertise on hermeneutics, philosophy of history and theology.View the SourceWikipedia: Maria Bezobrazovatier 2WikipediaIncludes: Maria Bezobrazova, LeadQuote, Includes: Maria Bezobrazova, LeadMaria Vladimirovna Bezobrazova (1857-1914) was a philosopher, historiographer, educator, journalist and women's rights activist from the Russian Empire.View the SourceA. Monem Mahjoub (Wikipedia)Includes: A. Monem Mahjoub, LeadQuote, Includes: A. Monem Mahjoub, LeadSometimes described as "the last Sumerian", his major works are in the fields of linguistics, philology, historiography, religion and humanistic thought, civilization development and politics.View the SourceWikipedia: Kiyoshi MikiIncludes: Kiyoshi Miki, Article textQuote, Includes: Kiyoshi Miki, Article textWhile studying philosophy of history he began working as a lecturer at Ryūkoku University and Ōtani University.View the SourceComments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.