What is History? E.H. Carr

Summary

The video script explores E.H. Carr's classic 1961 book on the nature of history, challenging the common-sense view that history is merely a collection of facts. Carr argues that historians must navigate a reciprocal process between past facts and present interpretations, influenced by societal context and values. He likens the historian's task to the inductive method in science, suggesting that objectivity in history involves a commitment to progress and the future, despite criticisms of his relativistic perspective.

Takeaways

• 📚 E.H. Carr's book 'What is History?' is a classic that explores the nature and writing of history.
• 🧐 The common-sense view of history is about collecting facts, but Carr argues that facts only speak when selected by the historian.
• 🗣 Carr discusses the influence of the historian's present context on the interpretation of historical events and words.
• 🕵️‍♂️ The process of history writing is reciprocal, with historians molding facts to fit their interpretations and vice versa.
• 🌐 History is a dialogue between the past and the present, as well as between the individual and society.
• 🔬 Carr compares the historian's process to the inductive method in science, emphasizing the back-and-forth nature of historical inquiry.
• 🚫 He addresses objections to viewing history as a science, such as the uniqueness of historical events and the inability to predict the future.
• 📉 Carr argues that the search for causality in history is impossible without reference to values, as historians are always trying to learn from the past.
• 📈 To avoid total skepticism, Carr suggests organizing facts and interpretations around the idea of progress, which he sees as the development of human potentialities.
• 🔭 Objectivity in history involves rising above one's own situation and projecting vision into the future for a more profound insight into the past.
• 🤔 Carr's view has been criticized for being relativistic, but he attempts to draw a route back to objectivity through the value of progress.

Q & A

What is the central question addressed by E.H. Carr in his book?

E.H. Carr's book addresses the question of 'what is history' and how it should be written, challenging the common-sense view of history as simply a collection of facts.

According to Carr, what is the common-sense view of history?

The common-sense view of history is that it is about collecting as many facts as possible, with facts being like fish on a fishmonger's slab ready to be chosen and cooked.

What does Carr compare the selection of historical facts to?

Carr compares the selection of historical facts to choosing fish from a fishmonger's slab, emphasizing that facts only speak when the historian calls on them.

How does Carr describe the relationship between the historian and the facts?

Carr describes the relationship as a reciprocal process where the historian molds facts to their interpretation and revises the interpretation based on the collected facts, in a continuous dialogue between the past and the present.

What is the classical liberal view of history that Carr discusses?

The classical liberal view of history, popular in the 19th century, proposes that historians picking facts from the 'fishmonger's slab' would result in a universal harmony, with the truth emerging from this process.

What problems does Carr identify with the classical liberal view of history?

Carr identifies problems such as the fact that historical facts are only accessible through the present, with the historian's words carrying current connotations that cannot be divorced from them.

How does Carr approach the issue of objectivity in history?

Carr suggests that to achieve objectivity, historians should organize their facts and interpretations around the idea of progress, considering the future and the potential development of human capacities.

What does Carr argue about the process of historical work?

Carr argues that the process of historical work is not a linear one of collecting facts and then interpreting them, but rather a reciprocal and continuous dialogue between the historian and the facts.

How does Carr view the role of values in the search for causalities in history?

Carr posits that the search for causalities in history is impossible without reference to values, as the search for causes is always directly or indirectly a search for values.

What does Carr suggest about the relationship between history and science?

Carr suggests that history, like science, is driven by a back-and-forth process and is influenced by values in the present, challenging the notion that history cannot be scientific.

How does Carr define 'objectivity' in the context of a historian's work?

Carr defines 'objectivity' as the historian's capacity to rise above the limited version of their own situation and to project their vision into the future, providing a more profound and lasting insight into the past.