The Judgement of History
In Hegel's philosophy of history, the expression Weltgeschichte ist das Weltgericht (World History is a tribunal that judges the World) is used to assert the view that History is what judges men, their actions and their opinions.
Since the 20th century, Western historians have disavowed the aspiration to provide the "judgement of history." The goals of historical judgements or interpretations are separate to those of legal judgements, that need to be formulated quickly after the events and be final. The issue of collective memory is related to the issue of the "judgement of history."
Related to the issue of historical judgement are those of the pretension to neutrality and objectivity. Analytical and critical philosophers of history have debated whether historians should express judgements on historical figures, or if this would infringe on their supposed role. In general, positivists and neopositivists oppose any any value-judgement as unscientific.
Read more about this topic: Philosophy Of History
Famous quotes containing the words judgement and/or history:
“Thyself thou gav’st, thy own worth then not knowing,
Or me, to whom thou gav’st it, else mistaking;
So thy great gift, upon misprision growing,
Comes home again, on better judgement making.
Thus have I had thee, as a dream doth flatter,
In sleep a king, but, waking, no such matter.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Bias, point of view, fury—are they ... so dangerous and must they be ironed out of history, the hills flattened and the contours leveled? The professors talk ... about passion and point of view in history as a Calvinist talks about sin in the bedroom.”
—Catherine Drinker Bowen (1897–1973)