WHAT IS THE THEORY OF HISTORY OR HISTORIOLOGY? - HISTORY - 2025

The theory of history or historiology is the discipline that scientifically studies historical facts or events. That is, historiology analyzes and determines historical events using specific methods that are related to scientific knowledge.

The author Jörn Rüsen, in his research entitled Historiology: outline of a theory of historiology (2012), establishes that the objective of this discipline is to describe the way in which historical thought develops; It does this on the basis of the premise established by Hayden White, who stated that historiology is defined as the "theory of historical science."

Historiology - or theory of history - is the discipline that studies the conditions of historical reality, along with its structure and rules. Source: pixabay.com

Likewise, White also specified that historiology seeks to analyze the structures of human thought related to the past from a scientific methodology. This has generated certain controversies among researchers, since many do not consider that the study of history can be classified as a science, although it can follow certain scientific parameters.

This dilemma is solved by Rüsen, who argues that historiology is not only a scientific discipline; it is also a set of cognitive processes that allows us to visualize history from an emotional, aesthetic, political and rhetorical sense. For this reason, it is a form of cultural knowledge that is enriched by other disciplines (such as anthropology).

In conclusion, historiology is a discipline that describes certain historical events through a scientific methodology. It is a knowledge that does not seek to predict future events or judge the why of events; its purpose is to identify patterns, structures and theories present in historical processes.

Origin of historiology

Since ancient times, human beings have greatly valued historical records. For example, the Greeks worshiped Clío, who was the muse in charge of protecting the history of the peoples. It can even be said that the interest in preserving the events of the past began with the cavemen, who recorded their events by making drawings on the walls.

In turn, being a historian is one of the oldest professions in the world; This can be seen in the famous figures of Herodotus (484-425 BC) and Tacitus (56 AD-120 AD), to whom we owe much of what is known today about the world in classical antiquity.

Bust of Herodotus, in the Massimo Palace in Rome. Livioandronico2013

However, historiology as a branch of knowledge has a much more recent appearance. The first time the term was used was in a text entitled La historia como sistema, written by the Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset in 1971.

Likewise, the figure of the historiologist is also a recent event, since previously only the activities carried out by historians and chroniclers were discussed. In general terms, historiologists are dedicated to studying the precepts of history and philosophy, establishing the norms of historical realities.

It is important to note that the word historiology comes from the union of two Greek words: ἱστορία, which translates as history and λογία, whose translation would be science, study or theory. For this reason, historiology is also known as the Theory of History.

What does the theory of history study? (object of study)

Historiology aims to study the conditions and structures of historical events. It is also in charge of analyzing the set of theories that determine how, where and why certain historical and socio-political trends occur in particular regions.

In turn, historiology should not be confused with historiography, since the latter is intended to propose a series of methods and techniques that allow us to describe recorded historical events in an artistic way. However, both disciplines have in common the use of scientific methods together with the parameters of historical methods.

Outstanding theories and their authors

Karl Marx and Marvin Harris

Karl Marx

One of the most important authors within the historiological discipline was the philosopher and sociologist Karl Marx, who carried out an analysis of historical events from the materialist current. For this author, the modes of production of man are those that have shaped the historical development of different cultures around the world.

This means that, for Marx, the modes of production condition the rest of the cultural notions, such as politics and the legal structure. It is important to highlight that the modes of production refer to the different economic activities that a society develops.

Another important author for this discipline was the anthropologist Marvin Harris, who analyzed historical events from cultural notions.

Although Harris's approach is different from that of Marx, it can be established that they have in common some guidelines of the materialist perspective, since Harris also defended an interpretation of history based on the material conditions of each society.

José Ortega y Gasset

José Ortega y Gasset was the one who first introduced the concept of historiology. Via wikimedia commons.

The most important author for historiology was José Ortega y Gasset, since the discipline owes its name and definition to this philosopher. In his theory, Gasset established that history as a discipline had mistakenly introduced the structure of scientific knowledge, thus prompting the new historiologists to make a better interpretation of scientific knowledge.

For this author, the historical discipline must take the "wild order" of past events to turn it into a systematic structure that allows easy understanding of the events.

Branches

Historiology is a branch of history from which other disciplines emerge, such as the methodology of history and historiography.

The methodology of the story

It refers to the set of techniques and processes that are used by historiologists and historians to handle sources and evidence. This branch allows to investigate in an organized and methodological way the events of the past.

Historiography

Historiography aims to study historical events, however, it does so from an artistic approach while continuing to use scientific methods.

That is, this branch refers to the art of writing history without detaching itself from an objective perspective; rather, it defends the understanding between science and art.

Basic concepts in the theory of history

Historiology employs important concepts such as:

History

History -as a discipline- is a science whose purpose is to study the events of the past, especially those related to the events of humanity. Historiology is a branch of history, so both concepts are closely related and provide different perspectives to each other.

Epistemology

Epistemology is a branch of philosophical knowledge that studies the forms of human knowledge, taking into account its nature and its foundations. This concept is widely used in historiology, since it allows the discipline to delimit the different ways in which human communities have perceived and applied knowledge.

Culture

It is a term that has many meanings and implications. In historiology, this concept is used to identify the different human manifestations that have arisen over time. Within these parameters, culture allows historiology to know the political, religious and social characteristics of the communities of the past.

Historical sciences

The historical sciences are all disciplines of scientific methodology that study the events of the past. Historiology is linked to these branches of knowledge because they provide perspectives, concepts and theories that promote their studies and research.

Historical sources

The historical sources are all those documents that allow the historical disciplines to establish their theories. They are all the testimonies, texts and objects that can be analyzed in order to know the historical processes. Due to this, historiology requires historical sources to develop as a branch of knowledge.

Philosophy

Philosophy refers to the set of reflections that allow us to know and interpret the causes and effects of events. For this reason, historiology uses a series of philosophical reasoning to function as a discipline.

Chronology

The chronology is a branch of history that is responsible for dating the different events of the past. Some researchers define it as an auxiliary science that is fundamental for all historical studies, since it allows to establish the order of things.

Past

This term is used in historiology to refer to all those events that occurred in a period prior to the present time. This concept is not only used in the historical sciences; it is also used by other disciplines such as psychoanalysis, geology, and cosmology.

Scientific method

It is a methodology that allows new knowledge to be obtained through systematic observation, experimentation and hypothesis formulation. This methodology is frequently used by historiology.

Weather

Time is a concept of physical magnitudes that allows the duration of events to be measured or separated. Due to this, it is stated that time is a tool that orders events from sequences; For this, it establishes a past, a present and a future. Temporal notions are essential when you want to study human history.

References

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4. Grandazzi, A. (1990) The future of the past: from the history of historiography to historiology. Retrieved on February 10, 2020 from journals.sagepub.com
5. Guang, J. (2007) Practical historiology. The questions of epistemology and methodology of historiology study. Retrieved on February 10, 2020 from the Journal of Huaiyin Teachers College.
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8. SA (sf) Historiology. Retrieved on February 10, 2020 from Wikipedia: es.wikipedia.org