Is History Explanatory or Narrative?
In their very short romp through history titled The Lessons of History , Will and Ariel Durant, start by flipping that famous quote and ask: “Is history “a fable” not quite “agreed upon”?” And on a related note, they ask: “As his studies come to a close, the historian faces the challenge: Of what use have your studies been? Have you found in your work only the amusement of recounting the rise and fall of nations and ideas?” Or: “Have you derived from history any illumination of our present condition, any guidance of our judgment and policies, any guards against the rebuffs of surprise or the vicissitudes of change?” Some believe that history repeats itself. Others, like Mark Twain, believed that history rhymes, but doesn’t repeat. James Carse, in his book, Finite and Infinite Games , says there are other historians who believe that history can never be objective, that it is affected by the observer (Heisenberg would probably have agreed!). Carse then says: “The ...