Who is a historian?

The question of who such a historian is is extremely important for understanding the specifics of historical science, since such an individual is its main representative. The peculiarity of his scientific activity lies in the fact that he himself, being a man, studies human activity and relations in general. At the same time, as a scientist, it is difficult for him to remain objective, especially when studying the spiritual life of society.

The concept of

Initially, the question of who such a historian was understood in the descriptive sense . After all, during the birth of historiography, these people were not so much studying, as describing the events of the past. However, they often accompanied their works with their own observations and observations, in which it is possible to discern some germs of scientific analysis. Already in the ancient period, the foundations of research methods of work began to emerge, which were fully developed in the Middle Ages and in the Modern Times. In these epochs, the definition of who is a historian should be viewed from a different angle. In the first period mentioned, the authors were guided by the scholastic doctrine, so they can not yet be called scientists in the literal sense of the word. But already in the 16th and 17th centuries secular science was born, and history became a special discipline. Therefore, the very definition of who is a historian has changed. Now this term meant a scientific profession.

Features

To understand the expression under consideration, it is necessary to take into account the specifics of the research work of historians. It has already been said that the main object of their analysis is the results of human activity in all its manifestations. At the same time, the subjective moment plays a very important role: after all, when assessing the phenomena of the past very often the scientist gives his own vision of the problem. In this regard, in many respects, based on personal observations, the historian constructs his reasoning. The definition of a word therefore must take into account the indicated feature of the professional activity of the scientist.

Methods

The basis of historians' research is the preserved documents of the past, which contain valuable information, as well as artifacts on which it is possible to reconstruct the models of dwellings, household items, etc. Therefore, the scientist applies a variety of methods and methods of research, not only humanitarian, but also natural- Mathematical sciences. So it is necessary to take into account this specificity of science when mentioning who the historian is. The definition of this concept should include a reservation that a scientist who studies the past often resorts to methods not only of related sciences.

Themes

At the beginning of the historiographical discipline, initially political attention was focused on the authors. As a rule, the compilers of the first historical works described wars, reforms of their rulers and neighboring countries, bypassing other important aspects of human life activity. In addition, some of them described the personalities of kings, emperors, generals (such as the famous compiler of biographies Plutarch).

But after a while the authors came to an understanding of the need to study other topics: the economy, the social system, the spiritual life of society. Scientists have developed special research methods, and thus the story from the description of events of the past has turned into a science. However, the most important thing was that scientists came to an understanding of the importance of their discipline. Special monographs began to appear about what history is.

The definitions of historians were the most diverse, but the point of view of the French explorer M. Blok is generally accepted.

Domestic historiography

In our country, as well as the states of Western Europe, historical science originated from works in which events were presented by the years (in foreign historiography they are called chronicles, in our science - chronicles). In these works you can already notice the beginnings of what later became known as scientific analysis. Many authors not only stated the events, but also tried to give them an explanation, to identify the causes, to determine the consequences and significance. As a science, history in Russia originated in the 18th century. The first historian-scientist is V.N. Tatishchev. He began to apply the methods of scientific research, although he chose the annalistic form of the presentation of the material. Therefore, his books differed somewhat in a difficult language and were not easy to perceive by the ordinary reader.

A real breakthrough for Russian historiography was the work of N.M. Karamzin, who wrote his scientific work in a simple accessible literary language. The significance of his "History of the Russian State" lies in the fact that it aroused interest in the past of our country in society.

The development of historical discipline in Russia

The new stage of historiography in our country is connected with the name of S.M. Solovyov, who began to study the events of the past not through the personality and actions of specific rulers, as did his predecessor, but as a natural objective process. His theory of the state and development of society was of great importance for science, as it defined new requirements for the formation of a historian as a professional.

On his writings a new generation of researchers has grown up, who understood their task as revealing the natural patterns in the past.

The most famous continuer of his ideas was V.O. Klyuchevsky, who, incidentally, developed his own method of investigation. Thus, the historian, whose definition was briefly described in this review, is one of the most important professions in the society.