Jonas Ahlskog Ordine dei libri

Exploring the intricate relationship between history and the past, the book challenges the notion that historical understanding can be simplified to mere evidential or psychological factors. It posits that historical connections to the past are complex and shaped by the methodological commitments inherent in the discipline of history itself, emphasizing the uniqueness of historical inquiry.

How does history relate to the past? According to leading historical theorists, the relation to the past in history is reducible to evidential, psychological, practical and retrospective concerns. In contrast, this volume claims that historical relations to the past are irreducible products of the logical commitments of history as method. Ahlskog argues that the method of history shapes and enables relations to past in historical research by invoking past perspectives of meaning for rendering reality intelligible. The book provides a much-needed philosophical clarification of key concepts in one of the most fundamental debates within the humanities today.