- Polysemic character of history according to the time
- Polysemic character of the story from various perspectives
- Polysemic character of the story from a specific field or area
- References
The polysemic character of history refers to the various meanings that the word history can have. It should be noted that the concepts of the same story have arisen and varied according to the times, approaches, points of view and authors.
It is important to note that the definition or meaning of the word "history" will also depend on how it is written. For example, in Spanish it is said that “Historia” (with a capital H) refers to events that occurred in the past, while “historia” are fictitious stories.
In English, the meaning also varies, "History" (translation of history) corresponds to the science that studies past events, while "story" finds its meaning in the telling of stories, fables and fictitious events.
Polysemic character of history according to the time
The concept of the word "history" has changed over the centuries. For the Greeks and Romans, history was the teacher of life; for Christians the term was taken as the development of the divine plan on earth.
On the other hand, for the Renaissance it was considered as the study of the past and as a tool to better understand the future.
At the time of the 18th century, the French enlightenment claimed that history was the progress of human reason. In the following century, authors Leopold Von Ranke, Karl Marx, and Augusto Comte brought the term to "the science that explains events that actually occurred in the past, leaving aside speculation and unreal events."
For the twentieth century, with the rise of historiographic schools and historians, the concept of history had an inclination towards the past of man and society.
In the present time the meaning of history gets its broadest definitions. Right now it can be defined as the study of man, ideas, creations, acts in a certain past time and place.
Polysemic character of the story from various perspectives
The meaning of history is defined according to the context, that is, according to different points of view and from the field in which it is applied.
For example, historian Robin George Collingwood, explains that history is the discipline that tells what man has done in the past in order to give a concise explanation in the present.
However, for the historian Josep Fontana, history is a series of methods that man uses to decipher the past, which explain his present and give a reason to the present.
Both are approaches to the meaning of history, however, the conceptions are different.
Polysemic character of the story from a specific field or area
The polysemic character of the story can also be differentiated according to the use or the area that is applied.
The term history applied in the area of "universal history" is one that compiles the greatest world events in the history of mankind. That is, the most relevant of the process through which the human being has gone from its appearance to the present.
On the other hand, "literary history" is responsible for studying literary works, specifically works or texts that have high elaboration.
In short, the two terms refer to the study of history, but in completely different areas. This example perfectly portrays the polysemic character of the story.
References
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- Carr, EH (2008). What is History? Penguin.
- Collier, MJ (2003). Intercultural Alliances: Critical Transformation. California: SAGE.
- Fernandez, I. (2005). History of Mexico I. Mexico, DF: Pearson Education.
- Kahler, E. (1966). What is history? Fund of Economic Culture.
- Voegelin, E. (1990). What is History? and Other Late Unpublished Writings, Volume 28. University of Missouri Press.