Our Knowledge of the Past A Philosophy of Historiography [Paperback]

This book presents a philosophical analysis of the disciplines that offer scientific knowledge of the past.How do historians, comparative linguists, biblical and textual critics and evolutionary biologists establish beliefs about the past? How do they know the past? This book presents a philosophical analysis of the disciplines that offer scientific knowledge of the past. Aviezer Tucker's central claim is that historiography as a scientific discipline should be thought of as an effort to explain the evidence of past events. This is an important, fresh new approach to historiography and will be read by philosophers, historians and social scientists interested in the methodological foundations of their disciplines.How do historians, comparative linguists, biblical and textual critics and evolutionary biologists establish beliefs about the past? How do they know the past? This book presents a philosophical analysis of the disciplines that offer scientific knowledge of the past. Aviezer Tucker's central claim is that historiography as a scientific discipline should be thought of as an effort to explain the evidence of past events. This is an important, fresh new approach to historiography and will be read by philosophers, historians and social scientists interested in the methodological foundations of their disciplines.This book presents a philosophical analysis of the disciplines that reveal scientific knowledge of the past. Aviezer Tucker argues that historiography as a scientific discipline should be considered an attempt to analyze the evidence of past events. This new approach to historiography will interest philosophers, historians and social scientists concerned with the methodological foundations of their disciplines.Introduction. The philosophy of historiography; 1. Consensus and historiographic knowledge; 2. The history of knowledge of history; 3. The theory of scientific historiography; 4. Historiographic opinion; 5. Historiographic explanation; 6. The l³&