Definition and meaning of the word "history". History is ....

Some words have so firmly settled in our minds, deeply entered our lives, that most often we do not even realize how we use them. Examples include "school," "audience," or "history." Meanwhile, the first two were once borrowed from the Latin language, and the meaning and origin of the latter we will consider in this article.

Origin of the word

Despite the seemingly simplicity and obviousness of the meaning, the definition of the word "history", its meaning and etymology still cause controversy among the leading linguists of the whole world. All of them point to the origin of the term we are interested in from the Greek language (historia), but the understanding of the original meaning differs significantly.

Incredible points of view

The meaning of the word "history", as mentioned earlier, is determined by linguists, culturologists and philosophers until now. At the same time, along with quite logical and reasonable interpretations, there are quite special views on the meaning of the term.

The most interesting in this case are the points of view of religious thinkers. Some, for example, guided by the phonetic principle, determine the meaning of the word "history" By dividing it into so-called "sonic" syllables. Anyone with imagination can easily notice the whole sentence "from Torah-i" in the term. Such an approaching to Judaism, however, retains one of the main positions to this day.

On the other hand, adherents of Orthodoxy interpret the meaning of the word "history" Somewhat differently. In their explanation, they turn to morphological analysis, singling out the "old" root as the semantic core . Appealing to this, researchers who defend this point of view insist on the primacy of the ancient Slovene word, which was later adopted by the Greek language.

The meaning of the very word-basis was interpreted in this case as an idea approved by the divine principle, expressed through a person.

If you look at the explanatory dictionaries

The meaning of the word "history" in the most famous sources is determined in different ways. Only in the explanatory dictionary of T. Efremova is given 8 different interpretations of the term of interest to us.

Most often in the articles the following definition of the word "history" is given: this lexicon is understood as a whole scientific complex aimed at studying the past of all mankind. Nevertheless, even in the field of scientific activity, there are broader ideas about this word. For example, in the same dictionary of T. F. Efremova, the definition of history as a process of formation and development of not only phenomena related to human activities and life but also nature as a whole is encountered. In this context, the attraction to natural science is much more clearly evident.

Other definitions

Among the available points of view, one can not ignore the view that history is The science of facts. In this case, the basis of the meaning of the term lies precisely in the reliability of the committed. In this case, as an example, not only great wars and cataclysms will appear, but also any other incidents that can be confirmed and documented.

According to other ideas, history is, above all, a story, a description of a particular situation. As an example, we can cite in this case the plot of any film or book, to which modern mankind has long since become accustomed to and adapted. Remember how many times you offered to tell someone a story and see how firmly this understanding of the term has become firmly established in our minds.

About what or what?

With respect to the term "history", the meaning of the word Defines in many respects both representations about it, its specific distinction. At first glance, everything seems simple and understandable, and the deep meaning is pure and transparent.

Nevertheless, how many times have you heard stories about all kinds of conquests or, for example, eminent personalities? In such situations, the semantics of exactly the narrative, the description of a particular phenomenon is very distinctly traced.

Or take, for example, the name of the discipline "World History". Meaning of the word In this context will be somewhat different - it tends to be systematized, interpreted, and we have become accustomed to this for a long time.

There are other pitfalls in this definition. The word "history", meaning, interpretation, meaning Which seem simple and clear, can also indicate the process of becoming something. For example, the formation of the country, the study of a particular problem, the design of some apparatus and other realities. Equally can exist "History of Russia" and "History of Literary Studies."

General in particular

As already mentioned, the concept under investigation represents in its most form the whole complex of phenomena, spectra and varieties of scientific research. About what history is, one can not speak without distinguishing between the general and the particular. On the one hand, the term referred to in this article is a whole complex of scientific and pseudo-scientific knowledge about the process of the formation of the world in general and of mankind in particular.

On the other hand, do not forget about the existence of a separate discipline bearing the same name. History is studied more or less in schools, universities and other educational institutions.

Object and subject

Many thinkers, including Voltaire and Rene Descartes, argued about the appointment of this complex of sciences, its structure and the degree of necessity for the normal existence of mankind. On the basis of the views expressed by them and many other points of view, it can be said that the subject of history is primarily all manifestations of the formation and development of human society from time immemorial to today. If to speak more globally and scale, it is necessary to expand scales of studying to world. In this context, the subject of history is the life of the whole world from the moment of its inception, in whatever form it occurs.

How it is organized

First of all, of course, this is a complex of knowledge, not only scientific, but also private, however strange it may sound. By and large, each nation, each nation has its own understanding and interpretation of history, which can literally diametrically differ from the rest.

This is due primarily to the geopolitical component: the wars through which the people had to go through and the positions that the people held in them. So for some, this or that event can be defined as the greatest victory, and for others for centuries to remain a stigma on the body of the nation.

So what is history? Whence the word has gone, we have already found out - we turn now to the immediate fact, the so-called material manifestations. After all, in fact, where do modern mankind know about what happened in the era of dinosaurs or, for example, the royal Scythians?

The formation of the idea of history directly depends first, on material material, which is in greater or lesser quantities during all sorts of excavations and expeditions. Secondly, from the monuments of writing, which have survived to this day.

As the latter can act as directly the chronicles or testimonies of the priests, as well as simple charters of the population, which speak of things that are very insignificant and which are of a near-nature nature.

A special source of representations

It is noteworthy that art is an important source of the opinion of contemporary humanity regarding the past. By and large, it is in him most fully reflects the cultural, historical situation of a particular time interval.

In the paintings, for example, we can distinguish not only the main trends in terms of form, but also the uniqueness of the subject matter, which in many cases shapes the perception of the worldview of our distant or not very distant ancestors.

This fact is even more clearly reflected in fiction, in which the features of understanding the world, the organization of everyday life, the state and many other phenomena are reflected in the smallest detail.

It is the literary process in its dynamics and development that characterizes the movement of human thought in time and space to the greatest degree. It is noteworthy that approximately the same function is conventionally performed by the cinema - from the famous tapes of the past, modern humanity learns about the style of this or that epoch, significant phenomena in the historical situation, culture and religion of a particular country.

Memory of Generations

Finally, we should not forget about the folklore and stories of our grandparents. Of course, in this respect the question of the objectivity of the presentation is particularly acute, but in a sense the understanding of the historical picture becomes more complete. As an example, we can cite numerous stories of eyewitnesses of the Second World War, in which not only the personal impressions of people who have caught this terrible time, but also facts not known to modern science are preserved.

A similar situation is observed in African tribes, far from civilization. Ideas about the origin, formation and development of the world are transmitted in them mainly orally, which significantly influences the world outlook of people.