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Why did critics argue that historical knowledge cannot be reduced to experiences that verify it?
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Detail of a Roman copy (2nd century bce) of a Greek alabaster portrait bust of Aristotle (c. 325 bce); in the collection of the Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome.
Critics of the view that historical knowledge can be reduced to verifying experiences argued that such an approach fails to account for the unique nature of historical inquiry. Their objections generally centered on the following points:
- Irreducible Particularity: Many historians argued that the positivist focus on universal laws overlooks the "irreducible particularity" of historical events, which cannot be adequately explained by general uniformities or regularities.1
- Nature of Historical Understanding: Philosophers like R.G. Collingwood and Benedetto Croce contended that history requires a distinct pattern of interpretation. They argued that historians explain events by imaginatively re-enacting the past thinking of purposive agents, rather than by subsuming events under scientific laws.1
- Intentionality and Meaning: Critics influenced by Ludwig Wittgenstein, such as Peter Winch, challenged the assumption that human actions can be analyzed through a Humean causal model. They maintained that historical descriptions must be framed in terms that the agents themselves would recognize, reflecting the social reality, ideas, and conventions in which they participated.1
- Rational Explanation: W.H. Dray proposed that historical explanation often functions by showing an action to be "appropriate" within the context of an agent's specific beliefs and aims, a logical process that differs from the empirical verification demanded by positivist theories.1