How useful do you feel an understanding of philosophy is to the study of history? I am a history graduate on my way to completing a MA and PhD in this field. More and more my studies have got me contemplating philosophical issues, particularly morality. Sometimes it is difficult to not be overwhelmed with the horrors that history holds, to wonder how people can possibly act in such fundamentaly immoral ways towards each other. I find myself struggling with the debate long-standing in history as to whether as a historian it is inherent in my role to morally condemn certain actions in history or whether I should accept that I can never understand the position these people were in, therefore have no right to judge their consequent actions. While I'm still struggling to decide on this (perhaps somebody could help me?), I have slowly begun to think that an understanding of philosophy is as crucial to being a good historian as the other traditional techniques. I was wondering how many philosophers would agree with this view?

Comments

There is a number of different issues here. Let me comment on just one of them. We may indeed wonder how people, in certain situations, can come to act in appalling ways. The question as asked perhaps suggests that arm-chair philosophy might help in understanding this. But not so. This "how come?" question is an empirical one. What is needed is e.g. a knowledge of empirical work in social psychology, such as the Milgram experiment, which explored the willingness of subjects to inflict (apparent) suffering at the behest of an authoritative figure. The results of such work are highly alarming but also, I take it, highly salient for the historian. For they suggest something of the ready possibility of authority structures that might facilitate widespread evil behaviour. We can oh-so-easily be led to do terrible things.

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