History and morality / Donald Bloxham.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bloxham, Donald, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Historiography--Moral and ethical aspects.

Historiography.

History--Philosophy.

History.

Ethics.

Physical Description:

313 pages ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Other Title:

History & morality

Place of Publication:

Oxford, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2020.

Summary:

Against majority opinion within his profession, Donald Bloxham argues that it is legitimate, often unavoidable, and frequently important for historians to make value judgements about the past. 'History and Morality' draws on a wide range of historical examples, and its author's insights as a practicing historian. Examining concepts like impartiality, neutrality, contextualisation, and the use and abuse of the idea of the past as a foreign country, Bloxham's book investigates how far tacit moral judgements infuse works of history, and how strange those histories would look if the judgements were removed. The author argues that rather than trying to eradicate all judgemental elements from their work, historians need to think more consistently about how, and with what justification, they make the judgements that they do. The importance of all this lies not just in the responsibilities that historians bear towards the past - responsibilities to take historical actors on those actors' own terms and to portray the impact of those actors' deeds - but also in the role of history as a source of identity, pride, and shame in the present. The account of moral thought in 'History and Morality' has ramifications far beyond the activities of vocational historians.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: pt. 1 Contemplating Historical Actors in Context

Introduction

Misuses of Contextualization

Cause and Context in Historical Explanation

Different Sorts of Context

On Ideology

Political Morality and Special Roles

The Importance of Hindsight

pt. 2 Writing History: Problems of Neutrality

History versus Social Science

Evaluative and Evocative Language

Rhetoric and Truthfulness

Combining Perspectives

Legitimacy Contests in the Past

pt. 3 Justifying Judgement on Things Past

History I By Faith Alone

History II God Is With Us

History III To the Present

Moving Beyond "Their Own Terms'

Tolerance, Respect, Relativism

Past and Present in Conversation

pt. 4 History, Identity, and the Present

Influential Misunderstandings

Relating to the Past

Pride and Shame about the Past

Material Legacies

Closing Thoughts.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780198858713

019885871X

OCLC:

1123184204