The Historians' Paradox

Zusatztext

<p><b>Hoffer argues for a new methodological philosophy of history that mitigates</b><b>fallibility</b><b> and paradox</b><br><br>How do we know what happened in the past? We cannot go back, and no amount of historical data can enable us to understand with absolute certainty what life was like then. It is easy to demolish the very idea of historical knowing, but it is impossible to demolish the importance of historical knowing. In an age of cable television pundits and anonymous bloggers dueling over history, the value of owning history increases at the same time as our confidence in history as a way of knowing crumbles. Historical knowledge thus presents a paradoxthe more it is required, the less reliable it has become. To reconcile this paradoxthat history is impossible but necessaryPeter Charles Hoffer proposes a practical, workable philosophy of history for our times, one that is robust and realistic, and that speaks to anyone who reads, writes and teaches history.<br><br>Covering a sweeping range of philosophies (from ancient history to game theory), methodological approaches to writing history, and the advantages and disadvantages of different strategies of argument, Hoffer constructs a philosophy of history that is reasonable, free of fallacy, and supported by appropriate evidence that is itself tenable.</p>

Autorenportrait

<b>Peter Charles Hoffer</b> is Distinguished Research Professor of History at the University of Georgia. He has authored and co-authored more than twenty books, including<i>Clio Among the Muses: Essays on History and the Humanities; The Historians' Paradox: The Study of History in Our Time;</i> and<i>The Clamor of Lawyers: The American Revolution and the Crisis in the Legal Profession</i>.

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