Philosophy+of+History

=The Philosophy of History=

In the introduction of __The Philosophy of History,__ Hegel idenfities three types of history: original history, reflective history, and philosophical history.

Original history
Original history is history that is written firsthand--historians such as Herodotus, Thucydides, and others "simply transferred what was passing in the world around them." Legends, ballads, etc. have no place in this kind of history; original historians only use their own observations or experiences. These historians are not removed from their subject matter; "the author's spirit, and that of the actions he narrates, is one and the same." Thus, each writer attempts to meticulously narrate the events which have transpired around him. Similarly, Hegel writes that "The influences that have formed the writer are identical to those which have molded the events that constitute the matter of his story." This quotation means that the writings of the historian are influenced by the same events that have influenced the action he writes about. Furthermore, original historians do not reflect on experiences; they merely record them. Others' speeches may be recorded within original history, since the historians may be present to listen to the speech (thus inserting themselves into the event). Hegel mostly refers to original history as a means of recording history that occurred in the past (particularly in ancient Greece), but he says that modern accounts of military evolutions are a type of original history as well.

Reflective history
Reflective History is history that "is not confined by the limits of the time to which it relates, but whose spirit transcends the present." There are 3 types of reflective history:

a) **Universal history**--The aim of the universal historian is to gain an overall view of the entire history of a people or country. Hegel writes that, "This first kind of Reflective History is most nearly akin to the preceding, when it has no farther aim than to present the annals of a countrl complete. Every universal historian approaches his task with his own spirit, which is different than the spirit of the subject matter he is evaluating. Since this type of history often evaluates long spans of time, it must abbreviate events and their significance. This abbreviation of history, "...no longer maintains its original proportions, but is put off with a bare mention." Thus an abbreviation can de-emphasize important aspects of history. Hegel further indicates that a writer of Universal history describes scenes of battles and other historical events as if he had been an actual spectator. This writing style, Hegel believes, diminishes the distinctiveness of the historical scene. This idea largely occurs due to the fact that the writer is influenced by the present and was not actually present at the historical scene.

b) **Pragmatical history**--According to Hegel, "Pragmatical reflections...are truly and indefeasibly of the Present, and quicken the annals of the dead Past with the life of today." Evidently, this type of history acknowledges that studying the past makes us reflect on the present. Hegel state that "Moral reflections must here be specifically noticed..." Hegel appears to be a bit pessimistic about Pragmatical history when he writes that "...peoples and governments never have learned anything from history..." Despite the moral lessons reflected upon with Pragmatical history, Hegel seems to believe that mankind largely ignores these lessons.

c) **Critical history**--Hegel identifies Critical history as the dominant mode of studying history in Germany during his time. Critical history is a "history of history"--an investigation into the truth and credibility of established historical narratives. Hegel further indicates that Critical history "...consists in the acuteness with which the writer extorts something from the records which was not in the matter recorded." Hegel may not believe that this extortion is a good thing. Writers have, "...presented their judgments in the form of critical treatises." Thus, these historical writers have intertwined their opinions and passed them off as historical fact. Furthermore, writers of Critical history have put, "...subjective fantasies in the place of historical data; fancies whose merit is measured by their boldness...the scantiness of the particulars which they are based..." Hegel's assertion, that Critical history is the dominant mode of historical writing, is certainly an interesting one. Clearly, this sort of history is not as critical as it sounds.

d) **Transition to Philosophical History**-- Hegel does not give a specific name to this last type ofreflective history. However, Hegel does identify this particular history as the history of ideas (art, religion, philosophy, etc.), which often correlate with national character. This type of history investigates whether this correlation is accidental or not. Additionally, according to Hegel, this mode of historical thinking "...forms a transition to the Philosophical history of the world."

Philosophical history
Philosophical history connotes the the thoughtful consideration of history (Hegel acknowledges that this type of history is hard to define). He says that philosophy and history are diametrically opposed to each other (since philosophy is a discipline that uses "self-produced ideas without reference to reality"), but philosophy brings with it the concept of reason to the study of history. Reason is very imortant to Philosophical history, according to Hegel. Hegel writes that "...only Thought which Philosophy brings with it to the contemplation of History, is the simple conception of Reason..." Hegel believes that Reason is relationally interwined with History and thus grants a rational process for the study of history. Later, reason is described as "the infinite complex of things, their entire Essence and Truth." Hegel's emphasis on reason marks him as a clear follower of Kant and his understanding of the Enlightenment.

Questions about the text (for guest lecturer):
I am unclear as to what Hegel means by his concept of pragmatical history--he says that this is way of studying history that makes us reflect on the present, but he also says that no country or government ever learns from its history. What does this mean?

1.How would an origin myth (like the Christian Genesis) fit into Hegel's system of recorded history? 2.How does Hegel defend subjective morality against being trampled by the goals of history? [|More Questions] 3. Based on Hegel's views of history, can we determine if Hegel has a clear idea of the world's purpose?
 * Study Questions**