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{{Short description|Historical actuality of persons or events}}
{{about|the use of the term in the context of historical accuracy or actuality|the use of the term in the broader philosophical context|Historicity (philosophy)|the 2009 album by Vijay Iyer|Historicity (album)}}
{{about|the use of the term in the context of historical accuracy or actuality|the use of the term in the broader philosophical context|Historicity (philosophy)|the 2009 album by Vijay Iyer|Historicity (album)}}
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'''Historicity''' is the historical actuality of persons and events, meaning the quality of being part of [[history]] as opposed to being a historical [[myth]], [[legend]], or [[fiction]]. Historicity focuses on the truth value of knowledge claims about the past (denoting historical actuality, authenticity, and factuality.) The historicity of a claim about the past is its factual status.<ref>Wandersee, J. H. (1992), The historicality of cognition: Implications for science education research. J. Res. Sci. Teach., 29: 423–434. doi: 10.1002/tea.3660290409</ref><ref>Harre, R., & Moghaddam, F.M. (2006). Historicity, social psychology, and change. In Rockmore, T. & Margolis, J. (Eds.), History, historicity, and science (pp. 94-120). London: Ashgate Publishing Limited., [http://fathalimoghaddam.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/1324346188.pdf]</ref>


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'''Historicity''' is the historical actuality of persons and events, meaning the quality of being part of [[history]] instead of being a historical [[myth]], [[legend]], or [[fiction]]. The historicity of a claim about the past is its factual status.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Margolis|first=Joseph|title=History, Historicity and Science|publisher=Routledge|year=2016|isbn=978-1-351-93058-1|location=Oxon|language=en}}</ref> Historicity denotes historical actuality, authenticity, factuality and focuses on the true value of knowledge claims about the past.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Wandersee | first1 = J. H. | year = 1992 | title = The historicality of cognition: Implications for science education research | journal = J. Res. Sci. Teach. | volume = 29 | issue = 4| pages = 423–434 | doi = 10.1002/tea.3660290409 | bibcode = 1992JRScT..29..423W }}</ref><ref>Harre, R., & Moghaddam, F.M. (2006). Historicity, social psychology, and change. In Rockmore, T. & Margolis, J. (Eds.), History, historicity, and science (pp. 94–120). London: Ashgate Publishing Limited. [http://fathalimoghaddam.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/1324346188.pdf]</ref>
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Some theoreticians characterize historicity as a dimension of all natural phenomena that take place in space and time. Other scholars characterize it as an attribute reserved to certain human phenomena, in agreement with the practice of [[historiography]].<ref name="Blaga">Jones, Michael S., "Lucian Blaga, The Historical Phenomenon: An Excerpt from The Historical Being" (2012). Faculty Publications and Presentations. Paper 1. [http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/phil_fac_pubs/1]</ref> [[Herbert Marcuse]] explained historicity as that which “defines history and thus distinguishes it from ‘nature’ or from the ‘economy’” and “signifies the meaning we intend when we say of something that is ‘historical’.”<ref>Herbert Marcuse, ''Hegel’s Ontology and the Theory of Historicity'', trans. by Seyla Benhabib (Cambridge, Massachusetts, London, England: The MIT Press, 1987), 1.</ref> The Blackwell Dictionary of Western Philosophy defines historicity as "denoting the feature of our human situation by which we are located in specific concrete temporal and historical circumstances." For [[Wilhelm Dilthey]], historicity identifies human beings as unique and concrete historical beings.<ref>Bunnin, N., & Yu, J. (2004). The Blackwell dictionary of Western philosophy. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub. [http://www.blackwellreference.com/public/tocnode?id=g9781405106795_chunk_g97814051067959_ss1-63]</ref>


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Some theoreticians characterize historicity as a dimension of all natural phenomena that take place in space and time. Other scholars characterize it as an attribute reserved to certain human occurrences, in agreement with the practice of [[historiography]].<ref name="Blaga">Jones, Michael S., "[http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/phil_fac_pubs/1 Lucian Blaga, The Historical Phenomenon: An Excerpt from The Historical Being]" (2012). Faculty Publications and Presentations. Paper 1.</ref> [[Herbert Marcuse]] explained historicity as that which "defines history and thus distinguishes it from 'nature' or the 'economy'" and "signifies the meaning we intend when we say of something that is 'historical'."<ref>Herbert Marcuse, ''Hegel’s Ontology and the Theory of Historicity'', trans. by Seyla Benhabib (Cambridge, MA; London: The MIT Press, 1987), 1.</ref> The ''Blackwell Dictionary of Western Philosophy'' defines historicity as "denoting the feature of our human situation by which we are located in specific concrete temporal and historical circumstances".<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last1=Bunnin|first1=Nicholas|title=The Blackwell Dictionary of Western Philosophy|last2=Yu|first2=Jiyuan|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|year=2004|isbn=1405106794|location=Malden, MA|pages=308}}</ref> For [[Wilhelm Dilthey]], historicity identifies human beings as unique and concrete historical beings.<ref name=":0" />
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Questions regarding historicity concern not just the issue of "what really happened," but also the issue of how modern observers can come to know "what really happened."<ref>[[William J. Hamblin]], professor of history at Brigham Young University. Two part article on historicity, [http://www.patheos.com/blogs/enigmaticmirror/2014/04/22/dh-19-historicity-1/] and [http://www.patheos.com/blogs/enigmaticmirror/2014/04/23/dh-20-historicity-2/]</ref> This second issue is closely tied to historical research practices and methodologies for analyzing the reliability of [[primary sources]] and other evidence. Because various methodologies thematize historicity differently, it's not possible to reduce historicity to a single structure to be represented. Some methodologies (for example [[historicism]]), can make historicity subject to constructions of history based on submerged value commitments.<ref name="Hall1">Hall, J. (2007). ''Historicity and Sociohistorical Research.'' In W. Outhwaite, & S. Turner (Eds.), ''The SAGE Handbook of Social Science Methodology.'' (pp. 82-102). London, England: SAGE Publications Ltd. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781848607958.n5</ref> <ref name="Hall2">Hall, J. (2007). ''History, methodologies, and the study of religion.'' In J. Beckford, & N. Demerath (Eds.), ''The SAGE handbook of the sociology of religion.'' (pp. 167-189). London: SAGE Publications Ltd. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781848607965.n9</ref>

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Questions regarding historicity concern not just the issue of "what really happened", but also how modern observers can come to know "what really happened".<ref>[[William J. Hamblin]], professor of history at Brigham Young University. Two part article on historicity, [http://www.patheos.com/blogs/enigmaticmirror/2014/04/22/dh-19-historicity-1/] and [http://www.patheos.com/blogs/enigmaticmirror/2014/04/23/dh-20-historicity-2/]</ref> This second issue is closely tied to historical research practices and methodologies for analyzing the reliability of [[primary sources]] and other evidence. Because various methodologies thematize historicity differently, it is not possible to reduce historicity to a single structure to be represented. Some methodologies like [[historicism]] can make historicity subject to constructions of history based on submerged value commitments.<ref name="Hall1">Hall, J. (2007). ''Historicity and Sociohistorical Research.'' In W. Outhwaite, & S. Turner (Eds.), ''The Sage Handbook of Social Science Methodology.'' (pp. 82–102). London: Sage Publications Ltd. {{doi|10.4135/9781848607958.n5}}</ref><ref name="Hall2">Hall, J. (2007). ''History, Methodologies, and the Study of Religion.'' In J. Beckford, & N. Demerath (Eds.), ''The SAGE Handbook of the Sociology of Religion'' (pp. 167–189). London: Sage Publications Ltd. {{doi|10.4135/9781848607965.n9}}</ref> The historiographer [[François Hartog]] introduced the notion of regimes of historicity to describe a society that considers its past and attempts to deal with it, a process that is also cited as "a method of self-awareness in a human community".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Allred|first=Mason Kamana|title=Weimar Cinema, Embodiment, and Historicity: Cultural Memory and the Historical Films of Ernst Lubitsch|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2017|isbn=9780415349185|location=New York|pages=3}}</ref> The historicity of a reported event may be distinct from the historicity of persons involved in the event. For example, a popular story says that as a child, [[George Washington]] chopped down a cherry tree, and when confronted about it, honestly took responsibility for the act. Although there is no doubt that Washington existed as an historical figure, the historicity of this specific account has been found lacking.<ref>D.R. Woolf, ''A Global Encyclopedia of Historical Writing - Volume 2'' (2014), p. 642-43.</ref>
Questions of historicity are particularly relevant to partisan or poetic accounts of past events. For example, the [[historicity of the Iliad]] has become a topic of debate because later archaeological finds suggest that the work was based on some true event.
Questions of historicity are particularly relevant to [[Partisan (politics)|partisan]] or [[Poetry|poetic]] accounts of past events. For example, the [[historicity of the Iliad|historicity of the ''Iliad'']] has become a topic of debate because later archaeological finds suggest that the work was based on some true event.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Haywood|first1=Jan|title=Homer's Iliad and the Trojan War: Dialogues on Tradition|last2=Sweeney|first2=Naoise Mac|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|year=2018|isbn=978-1-350-01270-7|location=London|pages=108}}</ref>


Questions of historicity also arise frequently in relation to historical studies of religion. In these cases, value commitments can influence the choice of research methodology.<ref name="Hall2" />
Questions of historicity frequently arise in relation to historical [[religious studies|studies of religion]]. In these cases, value commitments can influence the choice of research [[methodology]].<ref name="Hall2" />


==See also==
==See also==
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*[[Historicity of the Bible]]
{{wiktionary}}
* [[Historicity of the Bible]]
**[[Historicity of Jesus]]
** [[Historicity of Jesus]]
**[[Historicity of the canonical Gospels]]
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**[[Historicism (Christian eschatology)]], a specific brand of [[Biblical literalism]]
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** [[Historicity of the canonical Gospels]]
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*[[Historicity of Muhammad]]
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** [[Historicism (Christian eschatology)]], a specific brand of [[Biblical literalism]]
* [[Historicity of Muhammad]]
*[[Historicity of Rama]]
* [[Historicity of the Book of Mormon]]
*[[Historicity of the Book of Mormon]]
*[[Historicism]]
*[[Historicism]]
*[[Historical method]]
*[[Historical method]]
*[[Historicity of King Arthur]]
*[[William Tell#Historicity debate|Historicity of William Tell]]
*[[Robin Hood#Historicity|Historicity of Robin Hood]]
*[[Ragnar Lodbrok#Historicity|Historicity of Ragnar Lodbrok]]
*[[Laozi#Historical views|Historicity of Laozi]]
*[[Parallelomania]]
*[[Temporality]]


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
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[[Category:Historicity]]
{{Wiktionary}}
*{{Commons category-inline}}
{{Historicity}}{{Historiography}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Historicity| ]]
[[Category:Historiography]]

Latest revision as of 18:37, 14 August 2024

This article is about the use of the term in the context of historical accuracy or actuality. For the use of the term in the broader philosophical context, see Historicity (philosophy). For the 2009 album by Vijay Iyer, see Historicity (album).

Historicity is the historical actuality of persons and events, meaning the quality of being part of history instead of being a historical myth, legend, or fiction. The historicity of a claim about the past is its factual status.[1] Historicity denotes historical actuality, authenticity, factuality and focuses on the true value of knowledge claims about the past.[2][3]

Some theoreticians characterize historicity as a dimension of all natural phenomena that take place in space and time. Other scholars characterize it as an attribute reserved to certain human occurrences, in agreement with the practice of historiography.[4] Herbert Marcuse explained historicity as that which "defines history and thus distinguishes it from 'nature' or the 'economy'" and "signifies the meaning we intend when we say of something that is 'historical'."[5] The Blackwell Dictionary of Western Philosophy defines historicity as "denoting the feature of our human situation by which we are located in specific concrete temporal and historical circumstances".[6] For Wilhelm Dilthey, historicity identifies human beings as unique and concrete historical beings.[6]

Questions regarding historicity concern not just the issue of "what really happened", but also how modern observers can come to know "what really happened".[7] This second issue is closely tied to historical research practices and methodologies for analyzing the reliability of primary sources and other evidence. Because various methodologies thematize historicity differently, it is not possible to reduce historicity to a single structure to be represented. Some methodologies like historicism can make historicity subject to constructions of history based on submerged value commitments.[8][9] The historiographer François Hartog introduced the notion of regimes of historicity to describe a society that considers its past and attempts to deal with it, a process that is also cited as "a method of self-awareness in a human community".[10] The historicity of a reported event may be distinct from the historicity of persons involved in the event. For example, a popular story says that as a child, George Washington chopped down a cherry tree, and when confronted about it, honestly took responsibility for the act. Although there is no doubt that Washington existed as an historical figure, the historicity of this specific account has been found lacking.[11]

Questions of historicity are particularly relevant to partisan or poetic accounts of past events. For example, the historicity of the Iliad has become a topic of debate because later archaeological finds suggest that the work was based on some true event.[12]

Questions of historicity frequently arise in relation to historical studies of religion. In these cases, value commitments can influence the choice of research methodology.[9]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Margolis, Joseph (2016). History, Historicity and Science. Oxon: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-93058-1.
  2. ^ Wandersee, J. H. (1992). "The historicality of cognition: Implications for science education research". J. Res. Sci. Teach. 29 (4): 423–434. Bibcode:1992JRScT..29..423W. doi:10.1002/tea.3660290409.
  3. ^ Harre, R., & Moghaddam, F.M. (2006). Historicity, social psychology, and change. In Rockmore, T. & Margolis, J. (Eds.), History, historicity, and science (pp. 94–120). London: Ashgate Publishing Limited. [1]
  4. ^ Jones, Michael S., "Lucian Blaga, The Historical Phenomenon: An Excerpt from The Historical Being" (2012). Faculty Publications and Presentations. Paper 1.
  5. ^ Herbert Marcuse, Hegel’s Ontology and the Theory of Historicity, trans. by Seyla Benhabib (Cambridge, MA; London: The MIT Press, 1987), 1.
  6. ^ a b Bunnin, Nicholas; Yu, Jiyuan (2004). The Blackwell Dictionary of Western Philosophy. Malden, MA: John Wiley & Sons. p. 308. ISBN 1405106794.
  7. ^ William J. Hamblin, professor of history at Brigham Young University. Two part article on historicity, [2] and [3]
  8. ^ Hall, J. (2007). Historicity and Sociohistorical Research. In W. Outhwaite, & S. Turner (Eds.), The Sage Handbook of Social Science Methodology. (pp. 82–102). London: Sage Publications Ltd. doi:10.4135/9781848607958.n5
  9. ^ a b Hall, J. (2007). History, Methodologies, and the Study of Religion. In J. Beckford, & N. Demerath (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of the Sociology of Religion (pp. 167–189). London: Sage Publications Ltd. doi:10.4135/9781848607965.n9
  10. ^ Allred, Mason Kamana (2017). Weimar Cinema, Embodiment, and Historicity: Cultural Memory and the Historical Films of Ernst Lubitsch. New York: Taylor & Francis. p. 3. ISBN 9780415349185.
  11. ^ D.R. Woolf, A Global Encyclopedia of Historical Writing - Volume 2 (2014), p. 642-43.
  12. ^ Haywood, Jan; Sweeney, Naoise Mac (2018). Homer's Iliad and the Trojan War: Dialogues on Tradition. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 108. ISBN 978-1-350-01270-7.
[edit]
Look up historicity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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