Evidence and Meaning

Jörn Rüsen is Professor Emeritus of General History and Historical Culture at Witten/Herdecke University. He has also taught at the Universities of Berlin, Bochum and Bielefeld and was Director of the Institute for Advanced Study at Essen. His books and articles have been translated into twenty different languages. Dr. Rüsen is the Founding Editor of the Berghahn Books series Making Sense of History.

Preface



Introduction



Chapter 1. What is Metahistory?



Chapter 2. The Foundation of Historical Thinking





How Does History come into the World?

The Elemental Forms in the Forming of Historical Meaning

An Aside: Contingency and Freedom

Experiencing Crisis and the Forming of Historical Meaning: A Typology



Chapter 3. History as Academic Discipline





Historical Meaning and Academic Study

Method and Truth

The Criteria for Truth in Historical Thinking

Academia: Intercultural Validity or Culturally Specific Relativity?

Disciplinary Matrix I: The Five Factor System

Disciplinary Matrix II: The Schema of Five Practices

Disciplinary Matrix III: The Three Levels of Forming Historical Meaning



Chapter 4. A Systematic Approach: Categories, Theories, Concepts





What is the Issue?

‘History’ as Concept of Meaning: A Look at Content and Form

Teleology and Reconstruction

A Problem Unresolved: The Natural World

Means of Access I: The Categorical Dimensions of the Historical

Means of Access II: The Realm of Experience Revealed

Means of Access III: The Realm of Interpretation Revealed

Means of Access IV: The Realm of Orientation Revealed

Interpretation in Context: Historical Theories

Comprehending the Matter: Historical Concepts

What is Historical Explanation?



Chapter 5. Methodology: The Rules of the Historical Method





The Methodological Character of Historical Knowledge

The Unity of the Historical Method

Heuristrics

Criticism

Interpretation

From Interpretation to Representation



Chapter 6. Topics: How We Write History





The Waywardness of Writing

Imagination, Fiction, Experience

Orders of Historiographical Representation: The Range of Possibilities

Typology of Historical Narrative I: Droysen, Nietzsche, White

Typology of Historical Narrative II: Classifying the Formation of Historical Meaning into Four Types

Typology of Historical Narrative III: Meaning and Rationality



Chapter 7. The Basis of Historical Culture





Historical Culture as Societal Practice

Historical Consciousness and Memory

Five Dimensions of Historical Culture

Orientation and Criticism: The Purpose of Historical Studies

The Role of Value Freedom



Chapter 8. Practical History: Learning, Understanding, Humanity





The Theoretical Foundation of History Didactics

Standards of Historical Judgement: Understanding and Morality

Politics of Memory and Historical Identity

Overcoming Ethnocentrism through Historical Humanism



Final Reflections: Finding Reason Between Meaning and Meaninglessness





Meaning and Meaninglessness

Once Again: The Limitations of Science



Bibliography

Index