Historicity
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| - | :''[[Historicity (philosophy)]]'' | ||
| - | '''Historicity''' is characteristic of having actually [[exist]]ed in history of persons and events, meaning the quality of being part of [[history]] as opposed to being a historical [[myth]] or [[legend]], or the quality of being part of [[recorded history]], as opposed to [[prehistory]]. Questions of historicity arise where accounts of events are believed by some to be true, but cannot be verified, either because lack of historical records or where historical accounts incorporate [[folklore]] as fact. | ||
| - | Issues of historicity particularly apply to the factual nature of events reported in partisan or poetic accounts. For example, the [[historicity of the Iliad]] is a topic of debate because later archaeological finds suggest that the work was based on some true event. | + | '''Historicity''' is the historical [[actuality]] of persons and events, meaning the quality of being part of [[history]] as opposed to being a historical [[myth]], [[legend]], or [[fiction]]. Historicity focuses on the true value of knowledge claims about the past (denoting historical actuality, authenticity, and factuality). The historicity of a claim about the past is its factual status. |
| - | Historicity also arises frequently in vetting religious claims that depend on the truth of historical events: | + | Some theoreticians characterize historicity as a dimension of all natural phenomena that take place in space and time. Other scholars characterize it as an attribute reserved to certain human phenomena, in agreement with the practice of [[historiography]]. [[Herbert Marcuse]] explained historicity as that which “defines history and thus distinguishes it from ‘nature’ or from the ‘economy’” and “signifies the meaning we intend when we say of something that is ‘historical’.” |
| - | * [[The Bible and history]] | + | |
| + | The Blackwell Dictionary of Western Philosophy defines historicity as "denoting the feature of our human situation by which we are located in specific concrete temporal and historical circumstances." For [[Wilhelm Dilthey]], historicity identifies human beings as unique and concrete historical beings. | ||
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| + | Questions regarding historicity concern not just the issue of "what really happened," but also the issue of how modern observers can come to know "what really happened." This second issue is closely tied to historical research practices and methodologies for analyzing the reliability of [[primary sources]] and other evidence. Because various methodologies thematize historicity differently, it's not possible to reduce historicity to a single structure to be represented. Some methodologies (for example [[historicism]]), can make historicity subject to constructions of history based on submerged value commitments. | ||
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| + | Questions of historicity are particularly relevant to partisan or poetic accounts of past events. For example, the [[historicity of the Iliad]] has become a topic of debate because later archaeological finds suggest that the work was based on some true event. | ||
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| + | Questions of historicity also arise frequently in relation to historical studies of religion. In these cases, value commitments can influence the choice of research methodology. | ||
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| + | ==See also== | ||
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| + | * [[Historicity of the Bible]] | ||
| ** [[Historicity of Jesus]] | ** [[Historicity of Jesus]] | ||
| ** [[Historicity of the canonical Gospels]] | ** [[Historicity of the canonical Gospels]] | ||
| ** [[Historicism (Christian eschatology)]], a specific brand of [[Biblical literalism]] | ** [[Historicism (Christian eschatology)]], a specific brand of [[Biblical literalism]] | ||
| * [[Historicity of Muhammad]] | * [[Historicity of Muhammad]] | ||
| + | * [[Historicity of the Book of Mormon]] | ||
| + | *[[Historicism]] | ||
| + | *[[Historical method]] | ||
| + | *[[Historical basis for King Arthur]] | ||
| + | *[[William Tell#Historicity debate|Historicity of William Tell]] | ||
| + | *[[Robin Hood#Historicity|Historicity of Robin Hood]] | ||
| + | *[[Ragnar Lodbrok#Historicity|Historicity of Ragnar Lodbrok]] | ||
| + | *[[Laozi#Historical views|Historicity of Laozi]] | ||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
| + | *[[Historical_figure#Historical_truth]] | ||
| + | *[[Historicity (philosophy)]] | ||
| *[[Historicism]] | *[[Historicism]] | ||
| + | *[[Truth]] | ||
| {{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} | ||
Revision as of 11:43, 17 February 2018
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Historicity is the historical actuality of persons and events, meaning the quality of being part of history as opposed to being a historical myth, legend, or fiction. Historicity focuses on the true value of knowledge claims about the past (denoting historical actuality, authenticity, and factuality). The historicity of a claim about the past is its factual status.
Some theoreticians characterize historicity as a dimension of all natural phenomena that take place in space and time. Other scholars characterize it as an attribute reserved to certain human phenomena, in agreement with the practice of historiography. Herbert Marcuse explained historicity as that which “defines history and thus distinguishes it from ‘nature’ or from the ‘economy’” and “signifies the meaning we intend when we say of something that is ‘historical’.”
The Blackwell Dictionary of Western Philosophy defines historicity as "denoting the feature of our human situation by which we are located in specific concrete temporal and historical circumstances." For Wilhelm Dilthey, historicity identifies human beings as unique and concrete historical beings.
Questions regarding historicity concern not just the issue of "what really happened," but also the issue of how modern observers can come to know "what really happened." This second issue is closely tied to historical research practices and methodologies for analyzing the reliability of primary sources and other evidence. Because various methodologies thematize historicity differently, it's not possible to reduce historicity to a single structure to be represented. Some methodologies (for example historicism), can make historicity subject to constructions of history based on submerged value commitments.
Questions of historicity are particularly relevant to partisan or poetic accounts of past events. For example, the historicity of the Iliad has become a topic of debate because later archaeological finds suggest that the work was based on some true event.
Questions of historicity also arise frequently in relation to historical studies of religion. In these cases, value commitments can influence the choice of research methodology.
See also
- Historicity of the Bible
- Historicity of Muhammad
- Historicity of the Book of Mormon
- Historicism
- Historical method
- Historical basis for King Arthur
- Historicity of William Tell
- Historicity of Robin Hood
- Historicity of Ragnar Lodbrok
- Historicity of Laozi
See also
