The shortest definition of the concept of history. What does history study? Why study history? History of the world

Story is a science that studies the past of humanity in all its specificity and diversity.

Story is a science about the past of human society and its present, about the patterns of development of social life in specific forms, in spatio-temporal dimensions.

Subject Historical science presents phenomena of human life, information about which has been preserved in historical monuments and sources. These phenomena are extremely diverse and relate to the development of the economy, the external and internal social life of the country, international relations, the activities of historical figures, etc.

Principles and methods of historical science . The process of formation of historical science was inextricably linked with the improvement of the methodology of history, i.e. the whole complex of principles and techniques within the framework of which historical research is carried out.

The basic principles of scientific historical research include:

– principle of objectivity , which implies the reconstruction of historical reality based on genuine facts and knowledge of the objective laws of historical development. Each phenomenon must be studied, taking into account both its positive and negative aspects, regardless of the subjective attitude towards it, without distorting or adjusting the existing facts to fit pre-developed schemes;

– principle of determinism – a scientific approach, according to which all observed phenomena are not random, but have a cause, are conditioned by certain prerequisites, and all reality appears as a web of cause-and-effect relationships;

– principle of historicism , requiring consideration of the phenomenon under study taking into account a specific chronological framework and a specific historical situation.

– principle of social approach , implying the need to take into account the interests, traditions and psychology of certain classes, estates, social strata and groups, the correlation of class interests with universal human ones, the subjective moment in the practical activities of governments, parties, individuals;

– principle of alternativeness , allowing for the possibility of multivariate historical development.

Methods , used in historical research, can be divided into two groups: general scientific and special (special scientific). General scientific methods are divided into empirical (observation, description, measurement, comparison, experiment) and theoretical (analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, abstraction, generalization, analogy, inversion, modeling, system-structural approach, construction of hypotheses). Special historical methods include:

– concrete historical or ideographic method ; its essence is in the description of facts, phenomena and events, without which no research is possible;

– comparative historical method ; implies that the phenomenon is not studied in itself, but in the context of similar phenomena separated in time and space; comparison with them makes it possible to better understand the phenomenon under study;

– historical-genetic method ; associated with tracing the genesis – i.e. the origin and development of the phenomenon being studied;

– retrospective method ; consists of consistent penetration into the past in order to identify the causes of events;

– historical-typological method ; associated with the classification of objects of knowledge according to a selected characteristic (characteristics) to facilitate their analysis (appears in its pure form, for example, in archeology, where extensive classifications and chronologies are based on certain types of tools, ceramics, jewelry, form of burials, etc.)

– chronological method ; provides for the presentation of historical material in chronological order.

In addition, historical research uses methods of other sciences that come to the aid of history within the framework of interdisciplinary interaction: linguistics, anthropology, biology, medicine, sociology, psychology, geography, geology, physics, chemistry, mathematics (statistics).

Functions:

1. Cognitive function is to identify patterns of historical development. It promotes the intellectual development of students and consists in the very study of the historical path of countries and peoples, in an objective reflection, from the position of historicism, of all the phenomena and processes that make up the history of mankind.

2. Educational function promotes the formation of civic, moral qualities and values using historical examples.

3. Prognostic function lies in the possibility of predicting the future based on an analysis of historical events of the past and present.

4. Social memory function lies in the fact that historical knowledge acts as a way of identification and orientation of society and the individual.

5. Practical-political . Its essence is that history as a science, identifying patterns of social development on the basis of a theoretical understanding of historical facts, helps to develop a scientifically based political course and avoid subjective decisions.

Sources for studying history:

The largest group of sources is written sources(epigraphic monuments, i.e. ancient inscriptions on stone, metal, ceramics, etc.; graffiti - texts scratched by hand on the walls of buildings, dishes; birch bark letters, manuscripts on papyrus, parchment and paper, printed materials, etc.) .

Physical monuments(tools, handicrafts, household items, dishes, clothing, jewelry, coins, weapons, remains of dwellings, architectural structures, etc.).

Ethnographic monuments- remains that have survived to this day, remnants of the ancient life of various peoples.

Folklore materials- monuments of oral folk art, i.e. legends, songs, fairy tales, proverbs, sayings, anecdotes, etc.

Linguistic monuments- geographical names, personal names, etc.

Film and photo documents.

Numismatic(coins, banknotes and other monetary units)

Phonodocuments.

ἱστορία - questioning, research) - a field of knowledge, as well as a humanities science, engaged in the study of man (his activities, condition, worldview, social connections and organizations, and so on) in the past.

In a narrower sense, history is a science that studies all kinds of sources about the past in order to establish the sequence of events, the historical process, the objectivity of the described facts and draw conclusions about the causes of events.

Original meaning, etymology and meaning of the term

The original meaning of the word “history” goes back to the ancient Greek term meaning “investigation, recognition, establishment.” History was identified with establishing the authenticity, truth of events and facts. In Ancient Roman historiography (historiography in the modern sense is a branch of historical science that studies its history), this word began to mean not a method of recognition, but a story about the events of the past. Soon, “history” began to be called any story about any incident, real or fictitious.

Stories that are popular in a culture but not corroborated by outside sources, such as the Arthurian legends, are generally considered part of the cultural heritage, rather than the "impartial study" that any part of history as a scientific discipline should be.

Word story came from the Greek language ( ἱστορία , historia), and comes from the Proto-Indo-European word wid-tor-, where is the root weid-, “know, see”. In Russian it is represented by the words “see” and “know”.

In the same ancient Greek sense, the word "history" was used by Francis Bacon in the widely used term natural history. For Bacon, history is “knowledge of objects whose place is determined in space and time,” and the source of which is memory (just as science is the fruit of reflection, and poetry is the fruit of fantasy). In medieval England the word "history" was more often used in the sense of story in general ( story). Special term history ( history) as a sequence of past events appeared in English at the end of the 15th century, and the word “historical” ( historical, historic) - in the 17th century. In Germany, France and Russia, the same word “history” is still used in both senses.

Because historians are both observers and participants in events, their historical works are written from the point of view of their time and are usually not only politically biased, but also share all the misconceptions of their era. In the words of Benedetto Croce, "All history is modern history." Historical science provides a true account of the course of history through accounts of events and their impartial analysis. In our time, history is created through the efforts of scientific institutions.

All events that remain in the memory of generations, in one authentic form or another, constitute the content of the historical chronicle. This is necessary to identify the sources most important for reconstructing the past. The composition of each historical archive depends on the content of the more general archive in which certain texts and documents are found; Although each of them claims to have “the whole truth,” some of these claims are usually refuted. In addition to archival sources, historians can use inscriptions and images on monuments, oral traditions and other sources, such as archaeological ones. By supplying sources independent of historical ones, archeology is especially useful for historical research, not only confirming or refuting the testimony of eyewitnesses of events, but also allowing information to be filled in time periods for which there is no evidence from contemporaries.

History by some authors refers to the humanities, by others - to the social sciences, and can be considered as an area between the humanities and social sciences. The study of history is often associated with certain practical or theoretical goals, but it can also be a manifestation of ordinary human curiosity.

Historiography

Term historiography has several meanings. First, it is the science of how history is written, how correctly the historical method is applied, and how it develops. Secondly, the same term refers to a body of historical writings, often selected thematically or otherwise from the general body (for example, 1960s historiography on the Middle Ages). Thirdly, the term historiography indicate the reasons for the creation of historical works, revealed in the course of their analysis, by the choice of topics, the way of interpreting events, the personal beliefs of the author and the audience to whom he addresses, the use of evidence, or the method of reference to other historians. Professional historians are also discussing the possibility of creating a single narrative of human history, or a series of such narratives competing for audiences.

Philosophy of history

The main approaches to the development of philosophy of history include the following:

formational (K. Marx, F. Engels, V. I. Lenin, I. M. Dyakonov, etc.)
civilizational (N. Ya. Danilevsky, O. Spengler, A. Toynbee, Sh. Aizenstadt, B. S. Erasov, D. M. Bondarenko, I. V. Sledzevsky, S. A. Nefedov, G. V. Aleksushin and etc.)
world-system (A. G. Frank, I. Wallerstein, S. Amin, J. Arrighi, M. A. Cheshkov, A. I. Fursov, A. V. Korotaev, K. Chase-Dunn, L. E. Grinin, etc.)
School of “Annals”: M. Blok, L. Febvre, F. Braudel, A. Ya. Gurevich.
Relay-stage (Yu. I. Semenov) (essentially, nothing more than a modified Marxist-formational approach, where the main driving force of social development is the same class struggle, and the ultimate goal is communism.)

Methods of history

The historical method consists of following the principles and rules of working with primary sources and other evidence found during research and then used in writing a historical work.

However, the beginning of the use of scientific methods in history is associated with another of his contemporary, Thucydides, and his book “History of the Peloponnesian War”. Unlike Herodotus and his religious colleagues, Thucydides viewed history as a product of the choices and actions not of gods, but of people, in whom he sought all causes and effects.

Their own traditions and developed methods of historical research existed in ancient and medieval China. The foundations of professional historiography were laid there by Sima Qian (145-90 BC), the author of Historical Notes. His followers used this work as a model for historical and biographical writings.

Among other historians who influenced the development of the methodology of historical research, we can mention Ranke, Trevelyan, Braudel, Blok, Febvre, Vogel. Authors such as H. Trevor-Roper opposed the use of scientific methodology in history. They stated that understanding history requires imagination, so history should be considered an art rather than a science. An equally controversial author, Ernst Nolte, following the classical German philosophical tradition, viewed history as a movement of ideas. Marxist historiography, represented in the West, particularly by the works of Hobsbawm and Deutscher, aims to confirm the philosophical ideas of Karl Marx. Their opponents, representing anti-communist historiography, such as Pipes and Conquest, offer an interpretation of history opposite to the Marxist one. There is also extensive historiography from a feminist perspective. A number of postmodern philosophers generally deny the possibility of an unbiased interpretation of history and the existence of scientific methodology in it. Lately, cliodynamics—mathematical modeling of historical processes—has begun to gain more and more strength.

Understanding the patterns of historical processes

The issue of the spread of various social systems largely boiled down to the problem of the spread of technical innovations and cultural diffusion. The ideas of diffusionism were most clearly formulated in the so-called theory of cultural circles. Its authors Friedrich Ratzel, Leo Frobenius and Fritz Graebner believed that similar phenomena in the culture of different peoples are explained by the origin of these phenomena from one center, that the most important elements of human culture appear only once and only in one place. They give the pioneer people a decisive advantage over other peoples.

In the 50s and 60s of the 20th century, the Malthusian theory of cycles was reflected in detail in the generalizing works of Slicher van Bath, Carlo Cippola and a number of other authors. The French Annales school played a major role in the development of this theory, in particular the works of Jean Mevre, Pierre Gouber, Ernest Labrousse, Fernand Braudel, Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie. In 1958, summing up the achievements of the previous period, the editor of the Annals, Fernand Braudel, announced the birth of a “new historical science,” La Nouvelle Histoire. He wrote: “The new economic and social history brings to the fore in its research the problem of cyclical change. She is fascinated by the phantom, but also by the reality of the cyclical rise and fall of prices.” Soon the existence of a “new historical science” was recognized throughout the Western world. In England it came to be called the new scientific history, and in the USA - the new economic history, or cliometrics. The historical process was described by cliometricians using huge numerical arrays and databases stored in computer memory.

In 1974, the first volume of Immanuel Wallerstein's The Modern World System was published. Developing the ideas of Fernand Braudel, Wallerstein showed that the formation of the world market is associated with uneven economic development. The countries of the “world center”, where new technologies appear and where the diffusion (and sometimes aggressive) wave of innovation spreads from, thanks to this, exploit the countries of the “world periphery”.

In 1991, Jack Goldstone's demographic-structural theory appeared. She drew on neo-Malthusian theory, but offered a more nuanced approach, in particular, she considered the impact of the population crisis not only on the common people, but also on the elite and on the state.

In Pursuit of Power, William McNeill, describing the diffusion waves generated by the technological discoveries of the modern era, complements his model with a description of Malthusian demographic cycles. Thus, we can talk about a new concept of the development of human society, in which the internal development of society is described using neo-Malthusian theory, but demographic cycles are sometimes superimposed by waves of conquest generated by discoveries made in other societies. These conquests are followed by demographic catastrophes and social synthesis, during which a new society and a new state are born.

Historical periods

The division of history into certain periods is used to classify in terms of certain general ideas. The names and boundaries of individual periods may depend on the geographic region and dating system. In most cases, the names are given retrospectively, that is, they reflect the system of assessments of the past from the point of view of subsequent eras, which can influence the researcher, and therefore periodization should be treated with due caution.

Story ( historical period) in the classical sense begins with the advent of writing. The period preceding its appearance is called prehistoric period. In Russian historiography, the following major periods of world history are distinguished:

Primitive society: in the Middle East - until ca. 3000 BC e. (unification of Upper and Lower Egypt);
Ancient world: in Europe - until 476 AD. e. (fall of the Roman Empire);
Middle Ages: 476 - end of the 15th century (beginning of the Age of Discovery);
Modern times: end of the 15th century. - 1918 (end of the First World War);
Modern times: 1918 - our days.

There are also alternative periodizations of world history. For example, in Western historiography the end middle ages associated with the 16th century, after which a single period begins modern history.

Historical disciplines

Archaeography is the theory and practice of publishing written sources.
Archeology is the study of the historical past of mankind using material sources.
Archival science is the study of issues related to the acquisition of archives, as well as the storage and use of archival documents.
Archontology is the study of the history of positions in state, international, political, religious and other public structures.
Bonistics is the study of the history of printing and circulation of paper banknotes.
Vexillology (flag studies) - the study of flags, banners, standards, pennants and other items of this kind.
Genealogy is the study of family relationships between people.
Genetic genealogy is the study of family relationships of people through the use of genetic methods.
Heraldry (heraldry) is the study of coats of arms, as well as the tradition and practice of their use.
Diplomacy - the study of historical acts (legal documents).
Document science is a comprehensive science about documents and document-communication activities, studying in historical, modern and predictive terms the processes of creation, dissemination and use of documentary sources of information in society.
Historiography is the study of the history and methodology of historical knowledge, as well as the study of the views and works of various historians.
Historical geography is a science at the intersection of history and geography.
Historical demography is the science of the demographic history of mankind.
Historical metrology is the study of measures used in the past - length, area, volume, weight - in their historical development.
- studying .
History methodology is the study of various systems of methods that can be used in the process of historical research and the specifics of various historical scientific schools.
Numismatics is the study of the history of coinage and monetary circulation based on coins.
Paleography is the study of the history of writing, the patterns of development of its graphic forms, as well as monuments of ancient writing.
Papyrology is the study of texts on papyri, found primarily in Egypt.
Sphragistics is the study of seals (matrices) and their impressions on various materials.
Faleristics - the study of award insignia.
Chronology is the study of the sequence of historical events in time or the science of measuring time.
Eortology - the study of church holidays.
Epigraphy - the study of inscriptions on solid materials (stone, ceramics, metal, etc.)

Disciplines related to history

Anthropology is the study of man and his interaction with the world.
Gender history is the history of the interaction of male and female experiences as one of the most important aspects of social organization.
Sociocultural anthropology is the science of culture as a set of material objects, ideas, values, perceptions and patterns of behavior in all forms of its manifestation and at all historical stages of its development.
Culturology is a science that studies culture and the most general patterns of its development.
Local history - the study of architecture, biology, geography, history, culture, literature, medicine, religious cults, self-government, agriculture, sports, toponymy, fortification, ecology of a particular region.
Psychohistory is the study of the psychological motivations for the actions of people in the past.
Ethnology and ethnography - the study of peoples and ethnic groups, their origin, culture and behavior (the definition of the subject of both disciplines, as well as their connection with sociocultural anthropology, remains debatable).

Related disciplines

Military history is the science of the origin, construction and actions of the armed forces, an integral part of military science.
Historical psychology is a science at the intersection of history and psychology.
Cultural history is the science of the value world of historical eras, peoples, individuals and other carriers of the historical process.
History of science - history of scientific knowledge, political and legal doctrines, history of philosophy, etc.
History of state and law - studies the patterns of development of state and law among various peoples of the world in different historical periods.
History of political and legal doctrines - studies the peculiarities of views on the issues of the essence, origin and existence of the state and law of various thinkers in different historical periods.
The history of religion is the study of the emergence and development of religious beliefs and sacred cults, the relationships and characteristics of local and world faiths.
Economic history is the study of phenomena and processes associated with the evolutionary development and interaction of human economic activity.

Notes

Professor Richard J. Evans The Two Faces of E.H. Carr (English). Archived
Professor Alun Munslow What History Is. History in Focus, Issue 2: What is History?. University of London (2001). Archived from the original on August 21, 2011. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
Introduction // Knowing Teaching and Learning History, National and International Perspectives / Peter N. Stearns, Peters Seixas, Sam Wineburg (eds.). - New York & London: New York University Press, 2000. - P. 6. - ISBN 0-8147-8141-1
Nash Gary B. The "Convergence" Paradigm in Studying Early American History in Schools // Knowing Teaching and Learning History, National and International Perspectives / Peter N. Stearns, Peters Seixas, Sam Wineburg (eds.). - New York & London: New York University Press, 2000. - P. 102–115. - ISBN 0-8147-8141-1
Seixas Peter Schweigen! die Kinder! // Knowing Teaching and Learning History, National and International Perspectives / Peter N. Stearns, Peters Seixas, Sam Wineburg (eds.). - New York & London: New York University Press, 2000. - P. 24. - ISBN 0-8147-8141-1
Lowenthal David Dilemmas and Delights of Learning History // Knowing Teaching and Learning History, National and International Perspectives / Peter N. Stearns, Peters Seixas, Sam Wineburg (eds.). - New York & London: New York University Press, 2000. - P. 63. - ISBN 0-8147-8141-1
Joseph, Brian (Ed.) & Janda, Richard (Ed.) (2008), "The Handbook of Historical Linguistics", Blackwell Publishing (published 30 December 2004), p. 163, ISBN 978-1405127479
Muller M. About the power of roots // Science of language. Philological notes, Voronezh, 1866.
Online Etymology Dictionary, http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=history&searchmode=none
Ferrater-Mora, Jose. Diccionario de Filosofia. Barcelona: Editorial Ariel, 1994.
Whitney, W. D. . New York: The Century Co, 1889.
Whitney, W. D. (1889). The Century dictionary; an encyclopedic lexicon of the English language. New York: The Century Co. Page.
WordNet Search - 3.0, "History".
Michael C. Lemon (1995).The Discipline of History and the History of Thought. Routledge. Page 201. ISBN 0-415-12346-1
Scott Gordon and James Gordon Irving, The History and Philosophy of Social Science. Routledge 1991. Page 1. ISBN 0-415-05682-9
Ritter, H. (1986). Dictionary of concepts in history. Reference sources for the social sciences and humanities, no. 3. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press. Page 416.
Graham, Gordon Chapter 1 // The Shape of the Past. - Oxford University, 1997.
Elizabeth Harris, In Defense of the Liberal-Arts Approach to Technical Writing. College English, Vol. 44, No. 6 (Oct., 1982), pp. 628-636

History largely determines the vector of development of the future: whoever controls the past controls the present and the future. There is an opinion that history is the most politicized science. And this opinion has a right to exist, because each previous era denies the other, and as a result, history is adjusted taking into account the needs of the time.

Historical knowledge spans several millennia, and if the understanding of the ancient world itself is based on ancient sources, archaeological excavations, assumptions and hypotheses, then the support of modern history is facts, events, documents, statistics and human testimony.

If we consider facts as fragments of reality, we can understand that by themselves they do not say anything. For historical knowledge, fact is the basis, and only a historian can give the fact the meaning that certain ideological and theoretical views require. Therefore, one and the same fact in historical practice may have different visions. Thus, what is important is the interpretation that stands between the fact and its understanding by historical science.

Historical schools and the subject of their research

The subject of historical science itself is defined ambiguously. On the one hand, the subject of history is political, economic, demographic history, as well as the history of a specific place - a village, a city, a country, and sometimes the history of a separate unit of society - a person, a family, a clan.

Modern historical schools number up to thirty definitions of the subject of history (in the scientific sense). As a rule, the subject of history is determined by the historian’s worldview, his philosophical and ideological beliefs. Therefore, you should not look for objectivity in history; the support in its understanding should be your own understanding of processes, independent work with facts and sources, as well as critical thinking.

Materialist historians are of the opinion that history studies the patterns of development of society, which depend on material goods and methods of their production. In other words, from the point of view of materialism, history is based on economic relations, and with the help of society, the reasons for the development or non-development of these relations are determined.

The basis of the liberal understanding is the conviction that the subject is specifically a person (his personality), through whom his natural rights are realized. That is, history, according to liberal historians, studies people in time.

Quis nescit primam esse historiae legem, ne quid falsi dicere audeat?
Deinde ne quid veri non audeat?

Who doesn’t know that the first law of history is to be afraid of any lie?
And then - not to be afraid of any truth?

Cicero, “On the Orator”, II, 15, 62:

1. Definition of history as a science

History is a science that studies the laws and patterns of development (= changes) of human society by studying the most important historical processes (primarily in the development of statehood), based on the analysis of event history, social structure, economic relations and culture.

The most important objects of studying history are society and man (society and individual). The first relates to the second as the general relates to the particular. Man is social and cannot be considered in isolation from society.

History studies those historical processes that have now completed. Therefore, it is especially important to emphasize the difference between history and political science and sociology, which study processes in the development of society that have not yet ended.

History, from its inception, emerges as a means of cognition of man and society, as a means of cognition, preservation and transmission of the social experience of mankind. The main goal of the scientific activity of historians remains traditional - expanding our knowledge of history and transferring social experience (Deopik D.V.).

Becoming a historian requires mastering the theory of knowledge, mastering methods of cognition and techniques for historical interpretation of the data obtained. This, in fact, is the “craft of a historian.”

History is a science, an exact science, its main task is to establish the truth. History has the most important attributes of science - laws, methods, methodology. In order to become a historian, it is not enough just to have professional knowledge (mastery of the “craft”), but it is also necessary to have a worldview.

1. Establishing the truth is carried out by identifying and formulating scientific laws and this occurs through the use of research methods based on scientific methodology. Hence the tasks of science - the discovery, formulation and substantiation of laws. The path of development of historical science is to increase the number of laws and the quality of their justification, which accordingly requires the improvement of scientific methodology. A historian is a specialist who knows historical laws and methodology and is able to use them in independent research.

Understanding the historical process and formulating laws involves identifying basic patterns that reflect the internal relationship and relationship between various manifestations of the historical process and determine their essence and meaning.

2. Methods of historical research. Source studies, textual studies, comparative studies. Precise methods - quantitative analysis.

3. Methodology. In Soviet times - Marxist-Leninist methodology of historical science. Nowadays the methodology of the 19th century is often recalled. – positivism and methodology of the 20th century. post-positivism.

4. The worldview of a modern historian is humanistic and based on universal human values. It has long been noted that improving professional skills in any specialty also means improving human qualities.

Historical processes together constitute a world historical (general historical) process.

The most general historical law is law of the unity of the world historical process. Other laws will be discussed in the next lecture. It is the idea of historical laws that allows one to make scientific generalizations that allow one to solve the most important task of the historian’s work - to accumulate and transmit social experience.

If without professional knowledge and skills of precise professional thinking a person remains a bearer of philistine thinking, then without a reflected worldview a historian easily becomes an ideologist. These are Scylla and Charybdis, which not all historians manage to ignore. What distinguishes history from ideology are tasks and, accordingly, ways to achieve them. By ideology we mean a system of ideas that are proposed by the authorities for more effective management of society at a specific historical moment.
Ideology has different tasks and a different categorical apparatus.

A sign of the presence of an ideology virus in a historical text, as a rule, is an emotionally charged evaluative (negative - about strangers, positive - about one’s own) judgment of a historian of actions or a historical figure, primarily a bearer of supreme power. The historian does not need to do this; his task is different. Since these persons are the object of his study, through whose actions he establishes the objective processes occurring in the society under study. In modern literature, the rudiments of the Marxist approach are manifested in this way.

Now no one doubts that historical science is on the verge of “ideology,” but historical science is not an ideology. A clear separation of science and ideology is predetermined by the historian’s worldview and, in turn, predetermines the historian’s professionalism. The historian identifies general causes, the ideologist justifies particular consequences. A misunderstanding of this was caused by a reduction in reflection in this direction and predetermined the crisis of historical science in Russia at the end of the twentieth century. At the beginning of the 21st century. Quite a lot of literature on this topic began to appear, which indicates a revival of reflection and a way out of the crisis.

History as a social science

All sciences set as their task the knowledge of the world around us. But how does history as a social science differ from the natural sciences? Natural sciences (physics, chemistry, biology, etc.) set as their task the study of the laws of the surrounding nature, and social sciences - societies, and history - even societies in the past.

Nature is inanimate, society is a collection of a huge number of animate, intelligent objects. “...Human actions, just like any other natural phenomenon, are determined by the universal laws of nature,” wrote I. Kant in his work “The Idea of Universal History in the World-Civil Plan” (Kant I. Works: in German and Russian T.1. M., 1994)

Let us highlight three main differences:
1. Laws in social sciences are more probabilistic and conjectural in nature than the laws of natural sciences.
Hence, one of the features of historical science is that historians are much less likely to be able to formulate a law. The result of the study is most often formulated in the form of a hypothesis. This is caused by the impossibility of conducting a direct experiment (seeing it with your own eyes) and the indirectness of the source’s perception of reality. Therefore, historical laws are especially difficult to formulate and justify. Consequently, in historical science, the recording of patterns is especially important.

2. the primary recording of the “fact” is carried out not by the researcher himself, but by the chronicler of the past - it is mediated by a written text compiled in the past.

3. inanimate nature does not have such a reverse effect on the scientist as society does on him. Hence the importance of separating ideological tasks from strictly historical ones.

The study of the historical process occurs both through logical reasoning (qualitative analysis) and through analysis of mass material (quantitative analysis: from the obvious - economic indicators, to the unobvious - ideas).

The main goal of studying history: strictly scientific - a) analytical, i.e. establishing laws and explaining patterns in one or another sphere of existence of human society using methods of historical research, and also b) synthetic, i.e. a statement of the history of the social experience of a given community as part of all humanity.

Two more goals came from the past and retained their significance: informational - a story about events and phenomena that took place in the past; edifying - the most ancient, drawing historical lessons.

2. Main components in mastering and studying history

Event history

The study of event history begins with an acquaintance with the existing periodization, and ends with the clarification of the old one or the establishment of a new one. Periodization can be at several levels, from the most general to the specific. The boundaries of a period are marked by the completion of some historical processes and the beginning of others, or the transition of a process in the same sphere to a qualitatively new level.

The initial concepts used by the historian are 1. fact, 2. event, 3. process.
1. A historical fact is one action localized in historical space and historical time.

A historical fact is formulated as a simple statement and includes: 1. Circumstance of time (when), 2. circumstance of place (when), 3. subject-object (who), 4. predicate-action (what he did), 5. complement-subject ( in relation to whom). Only if these five components are present can historical information be considered a fact. If one or more components are missing, the historian uses analytical procedures to try to establish them. This is one of the most important (but not the only and not the main) aspects of historical research.

Establishing a historical fact, in particular, is the concretization of a simple proposition by indicating the exact time and place in space. For example, the Great Patriotic War (this is the subject) began (the predicate) on July 22, 1941 (this is an indication of time) on the western border of the USSR (this is an indication of a place in space). We can consider such a judgment to be true. Hence, establishing the exact time and place in space is the first task of the historian. And this happens, as in the natural sciences, on the basis of experiment.

A historical experiment is an analysis of a historical source, carried out using methods of historical research, aimed at extracting historical facts that are contained in it in an explicit (in the form of statements) and hidden (not formulated in the form of statements) form. As in any science, such a fact must be tested for truth. “A concern for facts in history is a concern for evidence.”

The research begins with the identification of historical facts, but is not limited to this. This is the first step.

2. Several historical facts, i.e. actions that occurred at approximately the same time and place constitute a historical event. Thus, the event includes several historical facts. It often happens that a historian guesses an event behind several facts, and first formulates the name of this event, and then begins to expand the circle of facts, detailing it.

Most often, historians study processes that relate to different aspects of the emergence, change and disappearance of statehood. The study focuses on the acquisition of power and its transfer. Within one or more boards, periods of growth or decline (dynamics), stability or crisis (statics) should be noted.

A crisis can be caused by internal and external factors. An internal crisis may manifest itself in the form of a crisis in the transfer of power, revolts of the nobility, food riots of farmers, etc. An external crisis may be caused by an attack from the outside. An internal crisis may give rise to the need for reforms. Successful transformations can be carried out at the beginning of the period and in the middle. Unsuccessful transformations - often at the end of the period.

Let us repeat, the most important result of studying historical processes is the establishment of periodization - i.e. identifying the main stages in the development of a given society. Knowledge of periodization allows us to create a complete picture of the unfolding of the historical process in time; it is a support in the presentation of history and for the reflections of historians.

Periodization always occurs at several levels, in descending order: from the period level established by scientific tradition in the general periodization of World History, to the level specified by the researcher in private periodization (up to days and even hours).

The identified historical periods reflect the stages of development of the historical process; accordingly, the mentioned “depth” of periodization reflects our understanding of the historical process under study. Therefore, any historical research begins and ends with the compilation of periodization.

Principles of periodization

As a rule, the basis for compiling the periodization of any community is several reigns of sovereigns, less often one reign if it is long.

The lower limit in our course of lectures is considered to be a short reign (up to five years). We proceed from the assumption that a short and especially ultra-short reign is the most subtle indicator of a crisis, which actually marks the end of a period.

What kind of crisis are we talking about? Since the historian’s attention, when describing the course of the historical process, is focused on the bearers of power and the evolution of the institution of power, we are talking about a crisis of power (even if not realized explicitly) as the first symptom, the earliest manifestation of a crisis in society.

A sign of an acute crisis is a short reign from several months to 2-3 years, because This is the time of the most intense struggle for power, when the ruler’s positions are most vulnerable; by the 4th year they are noticeably strengthened.

In this regard, we note that social conflict is a less reliable manifestation of crisis, since the crises that are analyzed by the historian do not always lead to obvious economic consequences, and the economic consequences of crises, if they exist, do not always lead to social conflict.

Let us add that even if there was a social conflict in history, it is not always reflected in the chronicles and is extremely rarely reflected in chronicles. In sources, they are most often a manifestation of the ongoing struggle for power between representatives of the nobility, and not a voluntary initiative of social groups of producers.

Important takeaway
Indeed, whether we like it or not, in the presentation of the history of ancient or medieval society, history is measured from ruler to ruler. Apparently, the same can be said in relation to modern and recent history. Now the history of England is counted by prime ministers, America by presidents, the USSR by general secretaries, etc. The era of B.N. Yeltsin and the era of V.V. Putin in modern history are also significantly different, and we, as contemporaries, subtly feel this. In other words, this is the most stable factor in counting historical time in society, which we learn about from written sources.

Therefore, when first talking about history in a textbook, the most important aspect is the study of the institution of supreme power. From this point of view, the proposed course of lectures pays special attention to its three most important aspects: gaining power, maintaining it and transferring it. The historian needs to remember that someone is always fighting for power. Who is the camp of supporters of the bearer of supreme power and a group of pretenders. They are the most important components of such a story.

Social history

The structure of society is studied - the main social groups that form the “tops” and “bottoms” of society - who governs and who is governed; who produces an intellectual product and who produces a material product.

The top: a) the monarch, his family and their relatives, b) the family hereditary nobility; c) serving nobility; d) bureaucracy (servants, but not noble by origin); e) the clergy (not included in the upper echelons everywhere).

Two important concepts: Aristocracy is a position in society based on kinship. Bureaucracy is a position in society based on service.

Lower classes: those who engage in manual labor - agricultural, craft, service labor and trade.

Those who are professionally engaged in trading often occupy a special position and can gravitate both to the bottom and to the top.

It is necessary to fundamentally distinguish between such concepts as 1) “estates” - used when considering social history from a legal point of view (privileged - “know”, free - “people”, those denied rights - “?”, those without rights - “slaves” ) and 2) “classes” - from an economic point of view (individual land owners of different levels and origins, collective owners and non-owners).

It also talks about the state government system. The key question is about power. Accordingly, the lectures will focus on the control system.
The characteristics of service layers can be general and specific.

General – characteristics of the service strata as part of the whole society:

Place in the social-status hierarchy of society; 2. Internal organization; 3. Formal characteristics (system of ranks and ranks, uniform, etc.); 4. Principles of acquisition; 5. Comparison of the position of civilian and military officials; 6. Ownership of land and others.

Particular – characteristics of service layers according to internal features
1. Organization of the state apparatus; 2. territorial administration; 3. ranking system; 4. picking method; 5. rules of service; 6) forms of material support (see S.V. Volkov Service layers in the traditional Far East, M., 1999, pp. 5-6, 10).

Economic history

We study what economic relations representatives of various social groups enter into. The key issue is ownership of the main means of production - land. It studies who and under what conditions has the right to appropriate the surplus product.
Its forms: tax, work.
In addition, its redistribution in society is studied: in the form of taxes, through trade and as a result of wars (as a form of violent appropriation of material wealth).

Spiritual culture

In the sphere of the whole society: a. Religious – religions and beliefs, ideas about the sacred; b. Secular – science, arts, worldview and worldview.

In the early stages of the development of human society, the sphere of religious culture is prevalent. As we approach the modern era, the relationship between them changes - the importance of secular culture and rational knowledge (those that require confirmation not by faith, but by experiment) increases.

In the sphere of the individual: historical psychology. We study how, in the minds of an individual, the features of the secular and religious culture of his time are combined and how this influenced the actions of historical figures. Accordingly, returning to the first stage of the study, we can deepen our understanding of event history by understanding what caused the actions of participants in historical events.

It must be emphasized that all four components are complementary and give historical research a holistic look; without one of them, the research will be incomplete and incomplete. Another question is that their ratio may vary depending on the research task. The researcher must feel the proportion in their relationship and strive for a holistic presentation of his material.

The specificity of the present stage of development of historical science, in comparison with the previous one, lies in the need for greater specialization of historians. The analysis of social, economic and cultural history now more than before requires special knowledge and special training. Now, when we are planning a way out of the ideological crisis that many historians experienced in the 90s, the importance of an even study of all four components becomes obvious.

But the main thing, in our opinion, in historical oriental studies is still the restoration of event history.

STORY, -And, and.

1. Reality in the process of development. Laws of history. Dialectics of history.

2. A set of facts and events relating to a past life; the past, preserved in people's memory. From that hour on, all the enormous work done on the construction seemed distant to him, like some event that had sunk into history. Paustovsky, The Birth of the Sea.

3. someone or something or which. A science that studies the past of human society in all its specificity and diversity. History of the USSR. New story. □ - At the technical school I read a lot on the history of the Nanai people. Lidin, Big River.

4. what. Progress, consistent development of smth. Throughout the long history of the earth's crust, we see the main products of vital activity of the organic world unchanged. Vernadsky, Experience in descriptive mineralogy. Exhibiting foreign engravings, N.I. Romanov introduced visitors to the exhibition with a brief history of the development of engravings. Ostroumova-Lebedeva, Autobiographical notes.

5. what or which. The science that studies the sequential development, successive changes of something. areas of nature, culture, knowledge. History of music. Military history.

6. someone or something A set of facts and events associated with someone or something. We all knew his story, we knew that he killed his wife. Dostoevsky, Notes from a Dead House. [The owner] tells --- the story of his first love. M. Gorky, In People.

7. Story, narration. - Now you will tell me your story about Bela. Lermontov, Bela. All love stories are very similar to each other. I. Goncharov, Oblomov. Marie told [the boys] scary stories. Fedin, Cities and years.

8. Razg. Incident, event, incident. There are people to whom all sorts of unpleasant things happen. Arsenyev, In the mountains of Sikhote-Alin. The old woman always knew all the stories in the yard. M. Gorky, In People. This story happened to Sergei Lavrov two years ago. L. Linkov, Bitter Truth. || Scandal, trouble. [Pechorin] guessed that this was his old enemy; There’s nothing to do: you can’t avoid history. Lermontov, Princess Ligovskaya. Subsequently, troubles began in the house, Grushenka appeared, stories began with brother Dmitry, troubles began. Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov.

Disease history

Eternal (

ordinary) story

The usual story at breakfast. The theme eats almost nothing.

A completely different story

Machines should be a source of contentment and happiness for humanity, but in reality it turns out to be a completely different story: machines will give birth to pauperism.

History is silent

about what

joking

History with geography