History: Definition. History: the concept. Definition of history as a science

Do you believe that you can give 5 definitions of history? And even more? In this article we will consider in detail what history is, what are its features and the numerous points of view on this science. People have long paid attention to the fact that phenomena and processes of the universe occur in one or another sequence in time, and this constitutes a certain reality, which can be defined.

History and society

If we consider the concepts of "society" and "history" in their ratio, then an interesting fact strikes. First, the concept of "history", being a synonym for the concepts "development of society", "social process", characterizes the self-development of human society and its constituent spheres. From this it is clear that with this approach the description of processes and phenomena is given outside the life of the individuals participating in them. So, replacement in Europe and Africa of latifundism with solonite, corvee oborok or Taylorism in industry by human relations can be considered as stages of the economic sphere. With this understanding of history, it turns out that some faceless social forces dominate people.

Secondly, if in the "society" the notion "society" is concretized, the way of social reality is expressed, then "history" concretizes "society", its definition. History, therefore, consists of the processes of people's life. In other words, it describes where these processes occurred, when they flowed, and so on.

Thirdly, if you deeply understand this concept, then its relationship will manifest not only with the past when trying to define. History, on the one hand, really talks about the old times, based on the current state of socio-cultural life. As a result, modern requirements for events that occurred in the past become decisive. In other words, the following becomes clear when trying to define: history is explained in connection with the present, the knowledge gained about the past makes it possible to draw the necessary conclusions for the future. In this sense, this science, including the past, the present, and the future, connects them with the activities of people.

Understanding the course of history in a developed society

At different stages of the development of society, history was understood in different ways. In the conditions of developed societies with strong dynamism, its current is considered from the past to the present and from the present to the future. Usually the definition of history as a science is given in relation to the history of civilizations. It is believed that it began about 4000 years ago.

Understanding history in traditional societies

In traditional, backward societies, the past is ahead of the present. Aspiration for him as a model, ideal is set as a goal. In such societies myths prevail. Therefore, they are called prehistoric societies that have no historical experience.

Two possibilities of observing history

The "trick" of history is that its course passes as if imperceptibly for people. Its movement and human progress to observe from a close distance is very difficult. Usually you can talk about two possibilities of observing history. One of them is related to the personal formation of the child, and the other is the consistent registration of specific forms of organization of the stages of social processes. In other words, history is the evolution of social forms and personalities.

At the same time, it is important to define history as a science, establish a boundary between the history of mankind and the events that took place before the person appeared. The difficulty lies in the fact that the answer to this question depends on the author's position, his thinking, the scientific-theoretical model and even on the materials he extracted directly.

Dynamism, which marked the history

The definition of the concept that interests us would be incomplete if we did not note that dynamism exists in history. The nature of the society itself is such that its existence always has a volatile character. This is understandable. The reality that expresses the diverse interrelationships of people as material-social and practical-spiritual beings can not be static.

The dynamism of the history of mankind has been studied for a long time. This can be seen by considering the attempts of the ancient Greeks to learn the phenomena occurring in society, including their fantasies and delusions. Comparison of the simple equality of the era of hunters and gatherers with the division of people in antiquity into slaves and slave owners led to the appearance in the oral folk art of the myth of the "golden age". According to this myth, the history is moving in a circle. The definition of the concept that interests us, from this point of view is very different from the modern one. As reasons for the movement around the circle, the following arguments were cited: "God so decided" or "this is the command of nature", etc. At the same time, the question of the meaning of history was also touched in them in a peculiar way.

History from the standpoint of the Christian religion

For the first time in European thought, the characterization of the past of mankind from the position of the Christian religion was given by Aurelius Augustine (354-430). Based on the Bible, he divided the history of mankind into six epochs. In the sixth era, Jesus Christ lived and created, according to Aurelius Augustine (his portrait is presented below).

According to the Christian religion, firstly, history moves in a certain direction, therefore, it has an inner logic and divine meaning, consisting in a special ultimate goal. Secondly, the history of mankind is moving steadily towards progress. At the same time, God-ruled humanity reaches maturity. Third, history is unique. Although man was created by God, for perfect sins, he should be perfected according to the will of the Most High.

Historical progress

If the Christian point of view on history reigned supreme until the 18th century, the European thinkers of the beginning of modern times preferred progress and the natural laws of history, and also recognized the subordination of the fate of all peoples to a single law of historical development. The Italian G. Vico, the Frenchmen S. Montesquieu and J. Condorcet, the Germans I. Kant, Herder, G. Hegel and others believed that progress is expressed in the development of science, art, religion, philosophy, law, etc. To all of them, In the end, the idea of socio-historical progress was close.

K. Marx also was a supporter of linear social progress. According to his theory, progress ultimately rests on the development of productive forces. However, in this sense, his place in history is not properly reflected. The main role is played by social classes.

The definition of history should be given, noting also that by the end of the twentieth century, understanding its progress in the form of a linear movement, more precisely its absolutization, proved its complete failure. Once again there was interest in the views that existed in antiquity, in particular, its movement in a circle. Naturally, these views were presented in a new, enriched form.

The idea of cyclic history

Philosophers of the East and West considered the course of events of history in a certain sequence, repeatability and a certain rhythm. On the basis of these views, the idea of periodicity was gradually formed, that is, cyclical in the development of society. As noted by the largest historian of modern times F. Braudel, historical phenomena are characterized by periodicity. In this case, the time from the beginning of the processes to their end is taken into account.

Periodicity of changes is noted in two forms: system-identical and historical. Social changes occurring within the framework of a specific qualitative state give impetus to subsequent qualitative changes. It is evident that due to periodicity, the stability of the social condition is ensured.

In historical forms of periodicity, in the opinion of scientists, the stages of the development of human society, in particular, its concrete components taken, pass at a certain time, and then cease to exist. According to the type of manifestation, the periodicity, depending on in which system it unfolds, is a pendulum (in a small system), circular (in a medium-sized system), wave-like (in large systems), etc.

Doubts in asbolyutny progress

Although the progress of society in one form or another was recognized by many, nevertheless, at the end of the nineteenth century and especially in the twentieth century, doubts began as to the optimism of the idea of absolute progress. For the process of progress in one direction led to regress in the other and thereby created threats to the development of man and society.

Today, concepts such as history, the state became an integral part of our life. The definition of them seems to be no problem. However, as you can see, history can be viewed from several sides, and views on it at different times have changed significantly. For the first time we get acquainted with this science when we come to the 5th grade in September. The history, the definitions of which are given at this time to schoolchildren, is understood somewhat simplistically. In this article we have considered the concept more deeply and versatile. Now you can note the features characteristic of the history, give a definition. History is an interesting science, many of whom are seeking to continue their acquaintance after school.