Introduction
History is a very important subject to every discipline of life and particularly in philosophy. History is basically a representation of all human activities, events, and processes. On the other part, history can be considered as the practice that humans have of collecting and inferring happenings. History has been very important to philosophers for a long time now. It’s hence important to assess why history matters to philosophy.
Conceptualizing History and Philosophy
There are some metaphysical questions that are used to describe what history is all about. These questions integrate history and philosophy so well. Basically, what can be asked is like; does history have a plot? Does it have a Pattern or shape? Does history have any ultimate objectives or goals on which the whole event or process was progressing? (Wiltse, 1995) Describing the relevance of history to philosophy is a very critical issue to understand since the two disciplines are very much intertwined. Considering that philosophy is basically the quest to understand the reality of human existence and exercise wisdom, while history is a very strong aspect in the quest (Wiltse, 1995). This is the reason why people are using history to make a decision and understand current situations as well as future trends (Hegel and Sibree, 2004).
The way philosophers act is usually due to their perceived historical trend. Whereas some believe that history is a series of events in progress, others belief that there are patterns that at times are recurrent; yet, others still dispute that there could be any prevailing patterns or logical order that is portrayed by the morass of events in history (Wiltse, 1995).
Why History is Recorded
Defining philosophy is very difficult without considering the materials from historical records. Basically, this is because philosophy deals with humanity and describing or understanding reality. However, it’s also evident that the reality could be greatly affected by the previous event of which could only be found in historical records (Benn, 2008). History in fact preceded every aspect of living including politics, ethics, and economics. Actually, man precedes the effort to describe humanity or explain the world. The attempt to offer the most valid explanation can hence only be from past knowledge. This knowledge can be passed on to the next generation without distortion only if it’s recorded (Benn, 2008). As philosophy is about describing the world and humanity, the two concepts also fall first in the study of history (Hegel and Sibree, 2004). In this way, while history answers the question “what”, social thinking will rely on philosophy to answer “why”. The major reason to record history in philosophy is therefore for the fact that it offers empirical information of life in a community (Benn, 2008). Philosophy, therefore, relies on the information for deduction of principles, interpretations and creates a tool for present application and future benefit (Hegel and Sibree, 2004).
Conclusion
Though metaphysical hearsay concerning the significance of history has fallen into disregard, it’s hard to deny the lasting outcome some tentative theories have had on the real practice of philosophers. History records the world event and man’s survival through it. It begins from the dawn of consciousness to current events; it’s more than just records as it is transcendent and first-rate.
Reference
Benn, William. 2008. History of Modern Philosophy. BiblioBazaar, LLC. London Hegel, Wilhelm and Sibree, Charles. 2004. The Philosophy of History.
Dover philosophical classics. Courier Dover Publications. New York. Wiltse, Charles. 1995. History as Social Philosophy. International Journal of Ethics, Vol. 46, No. 1. pp. 49-63