Historiography : Development In The West

(1) (a) Voltaire

Voltaire was considered to be the ‘Father of the modern historiography.’

Explanation – Francois Marie Arouet who is also known as Voltaire came to be known as the ‘Father of the modern historiography’ because he thought that to write the history, it is important to consider all the aspects of human life and not just the authenticity of the historical truth and chronology.

(2) (b) Michel Foucault

Michel Foucault wrote the book entitled ‘Archaeology of Knowledge.’

Explanation – Michel Foucault, in his book, ‘Archaeology of Knowledge’ came up with the concept that transformation or the changes in the past is the most important point to take into consideration while writing history.

(4) is the incorrect pair. The correct pair is Karl Marx - Das Kapital.

Explanation - Karl Marx wrote the book titled ‘Das Kapital’ in which he explains that inequality led to the division in the society. This inequality occurred because human beings establish their relationships according to their needs, ownership, and the means through which these needs are fulfilled. Karl Marx justifies that history is about the class struggle and in Das Kapital he describes the class that holds power to economically exploit other classes.

(1) Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel came up with the concept known as Dialectics. This concept explains that to understand the true meaning of the event with regard to two direct opposites such as right-wrong, true-false; one must understand both the opposites like both right and wrong. The process to understand and interpret both the opposites is known as Dialectics.

(2) Annales School was started at the beginning of the 20^th century by the French Historians in France. This school gave a new interpretation to the history writing by acknowledging that history is about the climate, local people, agriculture, trade, technology, means of communication, social divisions and their collective psychology and not only about the rulers, kingdoms, dynasties, leaders or historical events.

(1) There is a school of historiography known as Feminist historiography. In this, historical research is based on the viewpoint of women. Historical research is written with the extensive research on the various situations of women’s life such as employment, family conditions, education, institutions working for or with them, women’s role in various fields, etc. One such example is the writings of the Simone de Beauvoir which explains basic principles related to Feminism.

(2) Michel Foucault called his method, ‘the archaeology of knowledge’ Because he recognized the fact that history based on the chronological event is not the correct way to form history, it is about the changes or the transformation which takes place in the past which archaeology explains. He considers archaeology as the primary truth to explain the various transitions that took place in the past.

(1) The study of the method of writing history in a critical manner is known as Historiography. It covers the study of sources, different approaches, techniques, etc.; that requires to write the history. The one who writes is known as a historian. For example, there are different schools of historiography such as - Modern school of Historiography, Feminist school of Historiography, etc.

(2) René Descartes insisted upon to check the authenticity of the historical documents that have been collected from various sources. Before, writing or collecting any historical record through various sources, it is important to clear the doubts. He explained about this, in his book ‘Discourse on the Method’ which includes the rules that are more helpful in creating the scientific method of research.

(3) Voltaire suggested that to write history, all the aspects of the human life should be taken into consideration and not just the chronology or objective truth. Social traditions, trade, economy, agriculture, etc. are also equally important to write the history. This is the reason he is said to be the founder of the Modern Historiography.

• Karl Marx – he was a German philosopher and historian who wrote the book Das Kapital in which he talks about the class struggle.

• Venerable Bede – he is known as the father of English history. He was an Anglo-Saxon scholar who wrote the first book called Martyrology – the chronicle based on the lives of the saints.

• Duns Scotus- he was a philosopher and Theologist who influenced secular thoughts of the society.

• Francois Marie Arouet – he was a French philosopher. He is known as the father of modern historiography.

According to Karl Marx, history is about the human relationships that have formed due to their primary needs, ownership, and the ways through which those needs are fulfilled. The availability to the different class of the society to fulfill these needs is not equally distributed. This created inequality among the people leading to struggle between different classes. Thus, Karl Marx in his book Das Kapital explains about the class that holds power to economically exploit other classes and their struggle.

The four main characteristics of the Modern Historiography are as follows:-

• The history writing begins with the formation of the important questions which is depended on the scientific principles.

• These important questions are anthropocentric in nature which means humankind is considered to be an important element of history. It is based on the actions of the people in the ancient time. History doesn’t justify the relation between human actions and divinity.

• Authentic evidence forms the answers to these questions.

• History is about the journey of the humankind based on their past actions.

Feminist historiography is another school of writing history based on the views of the women. Historical research is written with the extensive research based on the various situations of women’s life such as employment, family conditions, education institutions working for or with them, women’s role in various fields, etc. One such example is the writings of the Simone de Beauvoir who explains the basic principles related to Feminism. In, the historical records women after 1990 are shown as the independent class.

Leopold von Ranké published his perspective of history in the number of articles in his book called ‘The Theory and Practice of History’ and ‘The Secret of World History.’ He considers that it is important to collect the information from the original historical sources or documents. The related documents should be handled with great care. He justifies that this method will help to reach the historical truth and supported the critical method of the analysis of the historical research and disapproved with the imaginative ways to form the history. Thus, in the 19th century, his thoughts greatly influenced the historiography.

My favourite subject is Mathematics. The study of Mathematics began with Pythagoras, and he coined the term ‘Mathematics.’ Mathematics has been fundamental to advances in science, engineering, and philosophy. It has evolved from simple counting, measurement and calculation, and the systematic study of the shapes and motions of physical objects, through the application of abstraction, imagination, and logic, to the broad, complex and often abstract discipline we know today.

The first surviving examples of geometrical and algebraic calculations derive from Babylon and Egypt in about 1750 BC. The Greeks were the first mathematicians to concentrate on pure mathematics, believing that all mathematical knowledge could be derived from deduction and reasoning. They laid down axioms and built theories by using geometry. They created many instruments for watching the stars or surveying the land, all built upon mathematical principles. The most ancient mathematical texts available are from Mesopotamia and Egypt.