Methods of historical research and their characteristics. Various methods of historical research
With all the variety of research approaches, there are certain general research principles, such as consistency, objectivity, historicism.
The methodology of historical research is the technique by which methodology is implemented in historical research.
In Italy, during the Renaissance, the scientific apparatus of research began to take shape, and the system of footnotes was first introduced.
In the process of processing specific historical material, the researcher needs to use various research methods. The word "method" in Greek means "way, way". Scientific research methods are methods of obtaining scientific information in order to establish regular connections, relationships, dependencies and build scientific theories. Research methods are the most dynamic element of science.
Any scientific and cognitive process consists of three components: the object of cognition - the past, the cognizing subject - the historian and the method of cognition. Through the method, the scientist learns the problem, event, era under study. The scope and depth of new knowledge depend primarily on the effectiveness of the methods used. Of course, each method can be applied correctly or incorrectly, i.e. the method itself does not guarantee the acquisition of new knowledge, but without it no knowledge is possible. Therefore, one of the most important indicators of the level of development historical science research methods, their diversity and cognitive effectiveness are presented.
There are many classifications of scientific research methods.
One of the most common classifications involves dividing them into three groups: general scientific, special and private scientific:
- general scientific methods used in all sciences. Basically, these are methods and techniques of formal logic, such as: analysis, synthesis, deduction, induction, hypothesis, analogy, modeling, dialectics, etc.;
- special methods used in many sciences. The most common are: functional approach, systems approach, structural approach, sociological and statistical methods. The use of these methods makes it possible to reconstruct the picture of the past more deeply and more reliably, to systematize historical knowledge;
- private scientific methods have not universal, but applied value and are used only in a specific science.
In historical science, one of the most authoritative in national historiography is a classification proposed in the 1980s. Academician I.D. Kovalchenko. The author has been fruitfully studying this problem for more than 30 years. His monograph "Methods of historical research" is a major work, in which for the first time in Russian literature a systematic presentation of the main methods of historical knowledge is given. Moreover, this is done in organic connection with the analysis of the main problems of the methodology of history: the role of theory and methodology in scientific knowledge, the place of history in the system of sciences, historical source and historical fact, the structure and levels of historical research, methods of historical science, etc. Among the main methods of historical knowledge Kovalchenko I.D. relates:
- historical and genetic;
- historical and comparative;
- historical and typological;
- historical-systemic.
Let's consider each of these methods separately.
Historical-genetic method is one of the most common in historical research. Its essence lies in the consistent disclosure of the properties, functions and changes of the studied reality in the process of its historical movement. This method allows you to get as close as possible to reproducing the real history of the object of study. At the same time, the historical phenomenon is reflected in the most concrete form. Cognition proceeds sequentially from the individual to the particular, and then to the general and universal. By nature, the genetic method is analytical-inductive, and by the form of information expression it is descriptive. The genetic method makes it possible to show cause-and-effect relationships, patterns of historical spillage in their immediacy, and to characterize historical events and personalities in their individuality and imagery.
Historical comparative method has also long been used in historical research. It is based on comparisons - an important method of scientific knowledge. Nothing is without comparison Scientific research. The objective basis for comparison is that the past is a repetitive, internally conditioned process. Many phenomena are identical or similar internally.
its essence and differ only in the spatial or temporal variation of forms. And the same or similar forms can express different content. Therefore, in the process of comparison, an opportunity opens up for an explanation. historical facts revealing their essence.
This feature of the comparative method was first embodied by the ancient Greek historian Plutarch in his "biographies". A. Toynbee sought to discover as many laws as possible, applicable to any society, and sought to compare everything. It turned out that Peter I was the twin of Akhenaten, the era of Bismarck was a repetition of the era of Sparta from the time of King Cleomenes. The condition for the productive use of comparative historical method is the analysis of single-order events and processes.
- 1. Initial stage comparative analysis is analogy. It involves not analysis, but the transfer of representations from object to object. (Bismarck and Garibaldi played an outstanding role in unifying their countries).
- 2. Identification of the essential-substantial characteristics of the studied.
- 3. Acceptance of typology (Prussian and American type of development of capitalism in agriculture).
The comparative method is also used as a means of developing and verifying hypotheses. Based on it, it is possible retro alternative vistics. History as a retro-telling implies the ability to move in time in two directions: from the present and its problems (and at the same time the experience accumulated by this time) to the past, and from the beginning of an event to its finale. This brings into history the search for causality, an element of stability and strength that should not be underestimated: the final point is set, and in his work the historian starts from it. This does not eliminate the risk of delusional constructions, but at least it is minimized. The history of an event is actually a social experiment that has taken place. It can be observed by circumstantial evidence, hypotheses can be built, tested. The historian can offer all sorts of interpretations French Revolution, but in any case all his explanations have a common invariant to which they must be reduced: the revolution itself. So the flight of fancy has to be restrained. In this case, the comparative method is used as a means of developing and verifying hypotheses. Otherwise, this technique is called retro-alternativism. To imagine a different development of history is the only way to find the causes of real history. Raymond Aron called for rational weighing possible reasons of certain events by comparing what was possible: “If I say that Bismarck's decision caused the war of 1866 ... then I mean that without the decision of the Chancellor, the war would not have started (or at least wouldn't have started at that moment)" 1 . The actual causality is revealed only by comparison with what was in the possibility. Any historian, in order to explain what was, asks the question of what could have been. To carry out such a gradation, we take one of these antecedents, mentally assume it to be non-existent or modified, and try to reconstruct or imagine what would happen in this case. If you have to admit that the phenomenon under study would be different in the absence of this factor (or if it were not so), we conclude that this antecedent is one of the causes of some part of the phenomenon-effect, namely that part of it. parts in which we had to assume changes. Thus, logical research includes the following operations: 1) dismemberment of the phenomenon-consequence; 2) establishing a gradation of antecedents and highlighting the antecedent whose influence we have to evaluate; 3) constructing an unreal course of events; 4) comparison between speculative and real events.
If, examining the causes of the French Revolution, we want to weigh the significance of various economic (the crisis of the French economy in late XVIII century, the bad harvest of 1788), social (rising of the bourgeoisie, reaction of the nobility), political (financial crisis of the monarchy, resignation of Turgot) factors, then there can be no other solution than to consider all these various reasons, suggesting that they could be different, and try to imagine the course of events that could follow in this case. As M. Weber says, in order to "unravel real causal relationships, we create unreal ones." Such an "imaginary experience" is for the historian the only way not only to identify the causes, but also to unravel, weigh them^ as expressed by M. Weber and R. Aron, that is, to establish their hierarchy.
Historical-typological method, like all other methods, has its own objective basis. It consists in the fact that in the socio-historical process, on the one hand, they differ, on the other hand, the individual, special, general and universal are closely interconnected. Therefore, an important task of understanding historical phenomena, revealing their essence, is to identify the one that was inherent in the diversity of certain combinations of the individual (single). The past in all its manifestations is a continuous dynamic process. It is not a simple sequential course of events, but the change of some qualitative states by others, has its own significantly different stages, the selection of these stages is also
important task in the study historical development. The first step in the historian's work is the compilation of a chronology. The second step is periodization. The historian cuts history into periods, replaces the continuity of time with some semantic structure. The relations of discontinuity and continuity are revealed: continuity takes place within periods, discontinuity - between periods.
Particular varieties of the historical-typological method are: the periodization method (allows you to identify a number of stages in the development of various social, social phenomena) and the structural-diachronic method (aimed at studying historical processes at different times, allows you to identify the duration, frequency of various events).
Historical-system method allows you to understand the internal mechanisms of the functioning of social systems. A systematic approach is one of the main methods used in historical science, since society (and indeed individual person) is a highly organized system. The basis for the application of this method in history is the unity in the socio-historical development of the individual, particular and general. Really and concretely, this unity appears in historical systems of different levels. The functioning and development of societies includes and synthesizes those main components that make up historical reality. These components include separate unique events (say, the birth of Napoleon), historical situations (for example, the French Revolution) and processes (the impact of the ideas and events of the French Revolution on Europe). Obviously, all these events and processes are not only causally conditioned and have cause-and-effect relationships, but are also functionally interconnected. The task of system analysis, which includes structural and functional methods, is to give a whole complex picture of the past.
The concept of a system, like any other cognitive means, describes some ideal object. From the point of view of its external properties, this ideal object acts as a set of elements between which certain relationships and connections are established. Thanks to them, a set of elements turns into a coherent whole. In turn, the properties of the system turn out to be not just the sum of the properties of its individual elements, but are determined by the presence and specificity of the connection and relationships between them. The presence of connections and relationships between elements and the integrative connections generated by them, the integral properties of the system provide a relatively independent isolated existence, functioning and development of the system.
The system as a relatively isolated integrity opposes the environment, the environment. In fact, the concept of the environment is implicit (if there is no environment, then there will be no system) is contained in the concept of the system as a whole, the system is relatively isolated from the rest of the world, which acts as an environment.
The next step in a meaningful description of the properties of the system is to fix its hierarchical structure. This system property is inextricably linked with the potential divisibility of the elements of the system and the presence of a variety of connections and relationships for each system. The fact of the potential divisibility of the elements of the system means that the elements of the system can be considered as special systems.
Essential properties of the system:
- from point of view internal structure any system has an appropriate orderliness, organization and structure;
- the functioning of the system is subject to certain laws inherent in this system; at any given moment the system is in some state; a successive set of states constitutes its behavior.
The internal structure of the system is described using the following concepts: "set"; "element"; "attitude"; "property"; "connection"; "channels of connection"; "interaction"; "integrity"; "subsystem"; "organization"; "structure"; "leading part of the system"; "subsystem; decision maker; hierarchical structure of the system.
The specific properties of the system are characterized through the following features: "isolation"; "interaction"; "integration"; "differentiation"; "centralization"; "decentralization"; " Feedback»; "equilibrium"; "control"; "self-regulation"; "self management"; "competition".
The behavior of the system is defined through such concepts as: "environment"; "activity"; "functioning"; "change"; "adaptation"; "growth"; "evolution"; "development"; "genesis"; "education".
In modern research, many methods are used to extract information from sources, process it, systematize and construct theories and historical concepts. Sometimes the same method (or its varieties) is described by different authors under different names. An example is the descriptive-narrative - ideographic - descriptive - narrative method.
Descriptive-narrative method (ideographic) is a scientific method used in all socio-historical and natural sciences and ranked first in terms of breadth of application. Assumes a number of requirements:
- a clear idea of the chosen subject of study;
- description sequence;
- systematization, grouping or classification, characteristics of the material (qualitative, quantitative) in accordance with the research task.
Among the others scientific methods the descriptive-narrative method is the starting point. To a large extent, it determines the success of work using other methods, which usually "view" the same material in new aspects.
The well-known German scientist L. von Ranke (1795-1886) acted as a prominent representative of the narrative in historical science. began to study history and published a number of works that had a resounding success. Among them are The History of the Romanesque and Germanic Peoples, The Sovereigns and Peoples of Southern Europe in the 16th-17th Centuries, The Popes of Rome, Their Church and State in the 16th and 17th Centuries, 12 books on Prussian history.
In works of a source study nature are often used:
- conditionally documentary and grammatical-diplomatic methods, those. methods of dividing the text into constituent elements are used to study office work and office documents;
- textual methods. So, for example, logical text analysis allows interpreting various "dark" places, identifying contradictions in a document, existing gaps, etc. The use of these methods makes it possible to identify missing (destroyed) documents, to reconstruct various events;
- historical and political analysis allows you to compare information from various sources, recreate the circumstances of the political struggle that gave rise to documents, specify the composition of the participants who adopted this or that act.
Historiographic studies often use:
Chronological method- focusing on the analysis of the movement to scientific thoughts, the change of concept, views and ideas in chronological order, which allows you to reveal the patterns of accumulation and deepening of historiographic knowledge.
Problem-chronological method involves the division of broad topics into a number of narrow problems, each of which is considered in chronological order. This method is used both when studying the material (at the first stage of analysis, together with the methods of systematization and classification), and when compiling and presenting it within the text of a work on history.
Periodization Method- is aimed at highlighting individual stages in the development of historical science in order to discover the leading directions of scientific thought, to identify new elements in its structure.
Method of retrospective (return) analysis allows you to study the process of movement of thought of historians from the present to the past in order to identify elements of knowledge that has been strictly preserved in our days, to verify the conclusions of previous historical research and the data of modern science. This method is closely related to the method of "survivals", i.e. a method of reconstructing objects that have gone into the past according to the remains that have survived and have come down to the modern historian of the era. The researcher of primitive society E. Taylor (1832-1917) used ethnographic material.
Perspective analysis method defines promising directions, topics for future research based on an analysis of the level achieved by modern science and using knowledge of the patterns of development of historiography.
Modeling- this is the reproduction of the characteristics of some object on another object, specially created for its study. The second of the objects is called the model of the first. Modeling is based on a certain correspondence (but not identity) between the original and its model. There are 3 types of models: analytical, statistical, simulation. Models are resorted to in case of a lack of sources or, conversely, sources of satiety. For example, a model of an ancient Greek polis was created in the computer center of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
Methods of mathematical statistics. Statistics arose in the second half of the 17th century. in England. In historical science statistical methods began to be used in the 19th century. Events to be statistically processed must be homogeneous; quantitative and qualitative features should be studied in unity.
There are two types of statistical analysis:
- 1) descriptive statistics;
- 2) sample statistics (used in the absence of complete information and gives a probabilistic conclusion).
Among the many statistical methods, we can distinguish: the method of correlation analysis (establishes a relationship between two variables, the change in one of them depends not only on the second, but also on chance) and entropy analysis (entropy is a measure of the diversity of the system) - allows you to track social connections in small ( up to 20 units) in groups that do not obey probabilistic-statistical patterns. For example, Academician I.D. Kovalchenko subjected the tables of zemstvo household censuses of the post-reform period of Russia to mathematical processing and revealed the degree of stratification among estates and communities.
Method of terminological analysis. The terminological apparatus of sources borrows its subject content from life. The connection between a change in language and a change in social relations has long been established. A brilliant application of this method can be found in
F. Engels "The Frankish Dialect" 1 , where, having analyzed the movement of consonants in cognate words, he established the boundaries of German dialects and drew conclusions about the nature of the migration of tribes.
A variation is toponymic analysis - geographical names. Anthroponymic analysis - name-formation and name-creativity.
Content analysis- a method of quantitative processing of large arrays of documents, developed in American sociology. Its application makes it possible to identify the frequency of occurrence in the text of characteristics that are of interest to the researcher. Based on them, one can judge the intentions of the author of the text and the possible reactions of the addressee. The units are a word or a theme (expressed through modifier words). Content analysis involves at least 3 stages of research:
- dismemberment of the text into semantic units;
- counting the frequency of their use;
- interpretation of the results of text analysis.
Content analysis can be used in the analysis of periodical
press, questionnaires, complaints, personal (judicial, etc.) files, biographies, census sheets or lists in order to identify any trends by counting the frequency of recurring characteristics.
In particular, D.A. Gutnov applied the method of content analysis in the analysis of one of the works of P.N. Milyukov. The researcher identified the most common text units in the famous "Essays on the History of Russian Culture" by P.N. Milyukov, constructing graphics based on them. AT recent times statistical methods are actively used to build a collective portrait of historians of the post-war generation.
Media analysis algorithm:
- 1) the degree of objectivity of the source;
- 2) the number and volume of publications (dynamics by years, percentage);
- 3) authors of the publication (readers, journalists, military, political workers, etc.);
- 4) the frequency of occurring value judgments;
- 5) the tone of publications (neutral informational, panegyric, positive, critical, negatively emotionally colored);
- 6) the frequency of use of artistic, graphic and photographic materials (photographs, cartoons);
- 7) ideological goals of the publication;
- 8) dominant themes.
Semiotics(from Greek - sign) - method structural analysis sign systems, a discipline dealing with the comparative study of sign systems.
The foundations of semiotics were developed in the early 1960s. in the USSR Yu.M. Lotman, V.A. Uspensky, B.A. Uspensky, Yu.I. Levin, B.M. Gasparov, who founded the Moscow-Tartus semiotic school. A history and semiotics laboratory was opened at the University of Tartu, which was active until the early 1990s. Lotman's ideas have found application in linguistics, philology, cybernetics, information systems, art theory, etc. The starting point of semiotics is the idea that the text is a space in which the semiotic character of a literary work is realized as an artifact. For the semiotic analysis of a historical source, it is necessary to reconstruct the code used by the creator of the text and establish their correlation with the codes used by the researcher. The problem is that the fact conveyed by the author of the source is the result of choosing from the mass of surrounding events an event that, in his opinion, has a meaning. The use of this technique is effective in the analysis of various rituals: from household to state 1 . As an example of the application of the semiotic method, one can cite the study of Lotman Yu.M. “Conversations about Russian culture. Life and traditions of the Russian nobility (XVIII - early XIX centuries)", in which the author considers such significant rituals of noble life as a ball, matchmaking, marriage, divorce, duel, Russian dandyism, etc.
Modern research uses methods such as: method of discursive analysis(analysis of text phrases and its vocabulary through discursive markers); dense description method(not a simple description, but an interpretation of various interpretations of ordinary events); narrative story method"(consideration of familiar things as incomprehensible, unknown); case study method (study of a unique object or extreme event).
The rapid penetration of interview materials into historical research as a source led to the formation of " oral history» . Working with interview texts required historians to develop new methods.
construction method. It lies in the fact that the researcher works through as many autobiographies as possible from the point of view of the problem he is studying. Reading autobiographies, the researcher gives them a certain interpretation, based on some general scientific theory. The elements of autobiographical descriptions become for him "bricks" from which he constructs a picture of the phenomena under study. Autobiographies provide facts for building a general picture, which are related to each other according to the consequences or hypotheses that follow from the general theory.
Method of examples (illustrative). This method is a variation of the previous one. It consists in illustrating and confirming certain theses or hypotheses with examples selected from autobiographies. Using the method of illustrations, the researcher looks for confirmation of his ideas in them.
Typological analysis- consists in identifying certain types of personalities, behavior, schemes and patterns of life in the studied social groups. To do this, autobiographical material is subjected to a certain cataloging and classification, usually with the help of theoretical concepts, and all the richness of the reality described in the biographies is reduced to several types.
Statistical processing. This type of analysis is aimed at establishing the dependence of various characteristics of the authors of autobiographies and their positions and aspirations, as well as the dependence of these characteristics on various properties of social groups. Such measurements are useful, in particular, in cases where the researcher compares the results of the study of autobiographies with the results obtained by other methods.
Methods used in local studies:
- excursion method: departure to the studied area, acquaintance with architecture, landscape. Locus - a place - is not a territory, but a community of people engaged in a specific activity, united by a connecting factor. In the original sense, an excursion is a scientific lecture of a motor (mobile) nature, in which the element of literature is reduced to a minimum. The main place in it is occupied by the sensations of the excursionist, and the information is commentary;
- the method of complete immersion in the past involves a long stay in the region in order to penetrate the atmosphere of the place and better understand the people inhabiting it. This approach is very close in terms of views to the psychological hermeneutics of W. Dilthey. It is possible to identify the individuality of the city as an integral organism, to identify its core, to determine the realities state of the art. On the basis of this, a whole state is formed (the term was introduced by the local historian N.P. Antsiferov).
- identification of "cultural nests". It is based on a principle put forward in the 1920s. N.K. Piksanov about the relationship between the capital and the province in the history of Russian spiritual culture. In a generalizing article by E.I. Dsrgacheva-Skop and V.N. Alekseev, the concept of "cultural nest" was defined as "a way of describing the interaction of all areas of the cultural life of the province during its heyday ...". Structural parts of the "cultural nest": landscape and cultural environment, economic, social system, culture. Provincial "nests" influence the capital through "cultural heroes" - bright personalities, leaders acting as innovators (urban planner, book publisher, innovator in medicine or pedagogy, philanthropist or philanthropist);
- topographic anatomy- research through names that are carriers of information about the life of the city;
- anthropogeography - the study of the prehistory of the place where the object is located; logic line analysis: place - city - community 3 .
Methods used in historical and psychological research.
Method psychological analysis or the comparative psychological method is a comparative approach from identifying the reasons that prompted an individual to certain actions, to the psychology of entire social groups and the masses as a whole. To understand the individual motives of a particular position of a person, traditional characteristics are not enough. It is required to identify the specifics of thinking and the moral and psychological character of a person, which determine
which determined the perception of reality and determined the views and activities of the individual. The study touches upon the peculiarities of the psychology of all aspects of the historical process, comparing general group characteristics and individual characteristics.
Method of socio-psychological interpretation - suggests a description psychological characteristics in order to identify the socio-psychological conditionality of people's behavior.
The method of psychological design (experiencing) - interpretation of historical texts through recreation inner world their author, penetration into the historical atmosphere in which they were.
For example, Senyavskaya E.S. proposed this method for studying the image of the enemy in a “border situation” (the term of Heidegger M., Jaspers K.), meaning by it the restoration of certain historical types of behavior, thinking and perception 1 .
Researcher M. Hastings, while writing the book "Overlord", tried to mentally make a jump at that distant time, even took part in the teachings of the English Navy.
Methods used in archaeological research: magnetic exploration, radioisotope and thermoluminescent dating, spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray spectral analysis, etc. Knowledge of anatomy (Gerasimov's method) is used to recreate the appearance of a person from bone remains. Girts Prince. "Intense Description": In Search of an Interpretive Theory of Culture // Anthology of Cultural Studies. TL. Interpretations of culture. SPb., 1997. pp. 171-203. Schmidt S.O. Historical local history: questions of teaching and studying. Tver, 1991; Gamayunov S.A. Local history: problems of methodology // Questions of history. M., 1996. No. 9. S. 158-163.
Introduction
Interest in history is a natural interest. People have long sought to know their past, looking for some meaning in it, were fond of antiquity and collected antiquities, wrote and talked about the past. History leaves few people indifferent - this is a fact.
It is not difficult to answer the question why history so powerfully attracts a person to itself. We read from the famous French historian Mark Blok: “Ignorance of the past inevitably leads to a misunderstanding of the present.” Perhaps most people would agree with these words. And indeed, as L.N. Gumilyov, “everything that exists is the past, since any accomplishment immediately becomes the past” . And this precisely means that by studying the past as the only reality accessible to us, we thereby study and understand the present. That is why it is often said that history is the true teacher of life.
For a person, understanding the present is not only an understanding of the natural and social reality surrounding him, but, first of all, comprehension of himself and his place in the world, awareness of his specifically human essence, his goals and objectives, basic existential values and attitudes, in a word , everything that allows a person not only to fit into a certain socio-cultural context, but also to actively participate in its formation, to be a subject and a creator. Therefore, it should be borne in mind that the problem of history is also of interest to us from a purely philosophical point of view.
In close connection with philosophy is the worldview of a person, therefore, to ignore the role historical knowledge in its development is also impossible. According to B.L. Gubman, "the status of history as a worldview category is determined by the fact that outside of it a person cannot realize his involvement with his people and humanity as a whole" . From this it is clear that history acts as a guarantor of the self-preservation of local cultures and civilizations in all their inimitable originality and uniqueness, without losing spiritual unity with the rest of humanity. Simply put, history as a common destiny makes a people a people, and not a faceless agglomeration of two-legged creatures. Finally, one should not lose sight of the fact that history teaches patriotism, thus fulfilling an educational function - a requirement that is as relevant today as possible.
It is clear that when studying at a university, the role of history in the course of the educational and upbringing process increases many times over. Students are faced with the task of competent, methodically correct and systematic acquisition of historical knowledge, on the basis of which the formation of historical consciousness takes place. However, as practice shows, not all students have experience and skills. independent work, understand the specifics of historical science, are able to draw up notes and prepare for seminars. In order to help them in this, this manual has been written.
History as a science
The traditional definition of history is that history is the study of the past. human society in all its completeness and concreteness in order to understand the present and future prospects. What is the main thing here? Of course, history is a science. This emphasis is not entirely accidental. The fact is that the concept of history has changed many times over the course of human development. The "Father of History" is considered to have lived in the 5th century. BC. Ancient Greek writer Herodotus. The word "history" itself comes from the Greek historia, which means - a story about the past, a story about what happened. Because the main task for ancient historians it was necessary to convey to their contemporaries (and descendants) news about certain events that happened in the past, they sought to make their works vivid, imaginative, memorable and often embellished facts, gave free rein to fantasy, interfered with truth with fiction, invented phrases and whole speeches with which they endowed their heroes. Actions and events were most often explained by the will of the gods. Naturally, such history was not a science.
It did not become a science even later, in the Middle Ages. And how could it become a science, if “the most common and popular genre of literary work in this era is the lives of the saints, the most typical example of architecture is the cathedral, the icon prevails in painting, the characters in sculpture scripture"? . However, much has changed, and changed seriously. In antiquity, they did not think about the exact meaning of history and did not believe in the idea of progressive development. Hesiod in the epic poem “Works and Days” expressed the theory of the historical regression of mankind from the happy Golden Age to the dark Iron Age, Aristotle wrote about the endless cyclicality of existence, and ordinary Greeks relied on the role of blind chance, fate, fate in everything. It can be said that antiquity lived, as it were, "outside of history." The Bible in this regard has made a revolutionary coup, because. expressed a new understanding of history - progressively straightforward. History was filled with meaning and acquired the features of universalism, because all historical events were now viewed through the prism of the Christian faith. It should be added that during the Middle Ages there was no complete oblivion of the ancient tradition, which, in the end, predetermined the return of historical thought to the ideas of humanism during the Renaissance.
The crisis of historical knowledge began in the Age of Enlightenment. The 18th century was the heyday of the natural sciences, for which historians were completely unprepared; they are completely confused in trying to explain the dizzying rise of scientific knowledge. In this regard, the opinion was even expressed about the complete bankruptcy of "the historical method, which, despairing of the possibility of finding a genuine explanation, ascribes very far-reaching consequences to the most banal causes." And since the Age of Enlightenment is a time of tough and cruel ideological struggle between supporters of the old system and apologists for the revolutionary restructuring of society on new principles, history has degenerated into mere propaganda.
The crisis lasted almost until the end of the century, and only at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries did the situation begin to change. By the way, one should not think that this crisis hit only one story. No, the time was generally difficult for all humanitarian disciplines, so it is not surprising that the way out of it was inspired, first of all, by changes in philosophical knowledge. And how could it be otherwise? Of course, it was philosophy, as the most crowned of all sciences, as a discipline that has the status of a metascience, that should have played the role of a locomotive, followed by other areas of the humanities, including history. And so it happened. The changes were so significant that R.J. Collingwood, in his (long-time classic) study The Idea of History, called one of the parts (Part III) "On the Threshold of Scientific History." In his opinion, thanks to the works of Kant, Herder, Schelling, Fichte, Hegel, history came close to becoming a science in the exact sense of the word. The formation of history as a science was finally completed by the end of the 19th century.
So, what is historical science, what is its specificity? Before answering this question, we need to understand what science is in general and what is the difference between the natural sciences and the humanities. Science is understood as the sphere of human activity in which the development and theoretical systematization of objective knowledge about reality is carried out. Scientific knowledge must necessarily meet the criteria of consistency, verifiability and efficiency. As V.A. Kanke, “it is important to understand that any science is multilevel. Information about the phenomena being studied, regardless of their nature, is given in feelings (perceptual level), thoughts (cognitive level), statements (linguistic level). It is here, at these levels, that the difference between the natural sciences and the humanities lies, and history belongs to the latter. The natural sciences study natural phenomena, and at the perceptual level, natural science deals with the senses that capture the state of affairs in the observed area. On the cognitive level mental activity a person operates with concepts, and the object of statements (i.e., at the linguistic level) are natural processes that are described by means of universal and single statements using words denoting concepts. In the humanities, however, things are different. Instead of observable natural phenomena the scientist deals with the social actions of people, which at the perceptual level are melted into feelings (impressions, sensations, experiences, emotions, affects). At the cognitive level, they, actions, are comprehended through values. And at the linguistic level, the theory of these actions is presented through universal and singular statements, with the help of which certain human actions are either approved or rejected.
To understand the specifics of historical science, it is very important to always remember that the comprehension of history is a creative and deeply individual process, so any good historian will definitely bring something of his own, purely personal, interpret history and its tasks in his own way, and in the course of his work focuses on certain details and principles of studying the past. That is why the wealth of historical science is made up of the works of such different authors, such as Thucydides and Karamzin, Mathiez and Pavlov-Silvansky, Solovyov and Ten, Mommsen, Pokrovsky and many, many others. This can be illustrated at least by how history itself is understood by such different scientists as M. Blok, R.J. Collingwood and L.N. Gumilyov.
For example, a prominent representative of the so-called "Annals school" - the French historian Mark Blok says that history is the science "about people in time". As you can see, he puts human and temporal factors in the first place. The British neo-Hegelian philosopher and historian Robin George Collingwood understands history as a science that searches for evidence (“the actions of people committed in the past”) and their interpretation. And the creator of the theory of ethnogenesis, Lev Nikolaevich Gumilyov, never tires of reminding us of the extreme importance of the geographical factor in historical research.
Further consideration of the specifics of historical science is impossible without referring to the most general and specific methods of historical science, to which the next chapter is devoted.
Basic principles and methods of historical research
The methodology of historical science is quite diverse. “In translation from Greek, methodology means the path of knowledge, or a system of principles and methods for organizing and constructing theoretical and practical activities, as well as the doctrine of this system. Methodology is closely connected with the theoretical understanding of the subject, process and results of knowledge. However, methodology should be preceded by the most general principles and rules of historical knowledge and approaches to the study of history. They are the foundation without which any methodology would be meaningless.
The general principles of knowledge include the principles of objectivity and historicism. The principle of objectivity, in short, boils down to the impartiality of the researcher's view. A real scientist cannot afford to manipulate facts based on some momentary goals or his own ideological, political, personal, etc. likes and dislikes. To follow the ideal of truth is the lofty demand on which generations of scientists and scholars have always been brought up. scientific schools. Students who study history at an institute where history is not a major specialty are no different in this regard from some venerable academician who solves the most complex problems of the genesis of feudalism or deciphers ancient manuscripts. In the previous section, it was already shown that any historian inevitably introduces a personal principle into his studies, that is, an element of subjectivity. Nevertheless, it is necessary to strive to overcome the subjective view. These are the rules of elementary scientific ethics (whether this is possible is another question). The principle of historicism is that the study of the past should be carried out taking into account the specific historical situation and the interconnectedness and interdependence of the studied phenomena. Simply put, one cannot take facts and events out of the general context and consider them in isolation, without connection with the rest of the array. historical information.
Unfortunately, our recent past, and often the present, is full of egregious examples of scientific dishonesty and violation of both of the above principles. What is worth only one figure of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, cursed (in the literal sense of the word!) by many historians for "mass terror" and "despotism of power", although it is reliably known that during all the years of his reign, about the same number of people were destroyed as in contemporary France was slaughtered in one St. Bartholomew's night! But France is far from being the leader among European countries by the number of victims in this era. Nevertheless, the name of Ivan the Terrible has become a symbol of a cruel and inhuman ruler who oppresses his people, but the name of a no less cruel and criminal English king Henry VIII- No. We observe a similar picture in relation to both Russian revolutions - February and October, many myths have been created around the events of the Great Patriotic War etc. Examples can be multiplied further, but they all testify to the vital relevance of the principles of objectivity and historicism in our day.
Approaches to the study of history are classified into subjectivist, objective-idealistic, formational and civilizational. Of these, at present, the first three have already become the property of the past, and now the civilizational approach dominates in historical science, although until recently formational division community development supported by many scholars. The dominance of the civilizational approach is associated with its advantages, since it is based on the recognition of the intrinsic value and uniqueness of all local human communities and their cultures, which excludes the Eurocentric understanding of history as a unidirectional linear progressive process. With this approach, each civilization must be studied on the basis of the logic of its own development and according to its own criteria, and not from the point of view of civilizations of other types.
Regardless general principles, approach and methodology of research in the process of historical knowledge, two extremes should be avoided - voluntarism and fatalism. Voluntarism is understood as an excessive exaggeration of the role of the individual in history, so that the entire course of historical development appears as the result of exclusively the desires and arbitrariness of the subjective human will. History, therefore, appears to be a continuous chaos, devoid of any patterns. The other extreme is fatalism, i.e. belief that absolutely everything is predetermined and rigidly determined by the inexorable objective laws of social development, so that a conscious and purposeful human activity does not play any significant role in history. It should always be firmly remembered that in real history there is a combination of both subjective and objective factors. To exaggerate the role of one of them is fundamentally wrong and unproductive.
Let us now consider briefly the main features of the most famous methods of historical research. Usually, three groups of such methods are distinguished: general scientific, which include the historical, logical and method of classification (systematization); special ones, which include synchronic, chronological, comparative-historical, retrospective, structural-systemic and periodization methods; methods of other sciences used in historical research, for example, mathematical method, method social psychology etc.
historical method is one of the most frequently used in modern historical science. As N.V. Efremenkov, he "involves the study and reproduction of events and phenomena of national or general history as a developing process with its characteristic common, special and individual features" . This method is directly based on the chronological and event-based approaches to the events under study and the principle of historicism. Historical phenomena are necessarily considered in the context of their era, inseparably from it. The historical process itself, taking into account its integrity, is divided into a number of interrelated stages. The latter is very important, because it allows you to trace the presence of causal relationships between events.
Boolean Method very often used along with historical, so both these methods usually complement each other. In most cases, it comes down to the analysis and disclosure of the role of elements in the study of certain historical phenomena. Functions, the meaning of individual facts or events are studied in all their specificity, which makes it possible to determine the essence of the phenomenon as a whole and ascend to the level of theoretical understanding of both details of a concrete historical nature, and general patterns. The essence of this method can be defined as filling the entire array of factual materials with the conceptual content, as a result of which the ascent from the individual and individual to the general and abstract is carried out.
It should be noted that the role of logic in scientific knowledge is generally great, but it increases especially strongly when constructing a scientific hypothesis or putting forward a theoretical position. It is the application of ideas, methods and apparatus of scientific logic that makes it possible to solve such issues as the consistency and completeness of the theory, the testability of the hypothesis, the correctness of the chosen classification, the rigor of definitions, etc.
Method of classification (systematization)- this is a special case application of the logical operation of dividing the scope of the concept. Historical facts, events, on the basis of any signs of similarity or difference between them, are grouped by the researcher into a certain system for permanent use. There can be several classifications, their number is determined by the needs of scientific work. Each individual classification is based on only one criterion or feature. A classification is called natural if it is built on the basis of signs that are essential for given facts or events. In such cases, it has a cognitive value and is usually called a typology. An artificial classification consists in systematizing facts or events according to signs that are insignificant for them, which, however, is a certain convenience for the researcher himself. It should be remembered that any classification is conditional, because. it is usually the result of a simplification of the phenomena under study.
Synchronous method is used to study the parallelism of events occurring at the same time but in different metas. This method allows you to determine the general and particular in the events and phenomena of the political, cultural and socio-economic spheres of society. When studying the history of Russia, the interrelation of the domestic political or economic situation in the country with global development trends is traced. This method was actively used by the outstanding Russian historian L.N. Gumilyov.
Chronological method allows you to study phenomena and events in their relationship, development and temporal sequence with the fixation of the changes occurring in them. It is especially useful when comparing historical chronicles, in which there is a close unity of subject matter with the chronology of presentation.
Problem-chronological method is one of the varieties of the chronological method. Its essence lies in the division of one large topic or problem into several private topics or problems, which are then studied in chronological order, which contributes not only to an in-depth and detailed study of individual elements of the historical process, but also to the understanding of their interconnectedness and interdependence with each other.
Periodization method (diachrony) is based on the allocation in the history of society or some separate phenomenon of social life of certain chronological periods that differ in their specific features and characteristics. It is this specificity that is the main criterion for distinguishing periods, since it expresses the essential content of the studied phenomena or events. The criterion, as in the classification method, should be only one. The method of periodization is used to study the historical process as a whole, some of its individual parts, as well as specific events and phenomena.
Comparative historical method otherwise called the method of historical parallels, or the method of analogy. It consists in comparing two studied objects (facts, events), one of which is well known to science, and the other is not. In the course of comparison, the presence of certain features is established on the basis of fixing the similarity that exists in some other features. This method allows you to find commonalities between the studied facts and events, but in the course of its use, the differences between them must also be taken into account. At present, the analogy method is most often used in hypotheses, as a means of clarifying the problem and directing its solutions.
Retrospective method sometimes referred to as the method of historical modeling, since its essence is to create a mental model of some phenomenon of the past on the basis of a thorough study of the entire complex of materials at the disposal of the researcher. However, this method should be used with great caution: when creating a model, one cannot neglect even the crumbs of the available information, but here lies the danger of a distorted model building - after all, fragmentary and partial information does not give one hundred percent confidence in the purity of the experiment. There is always a possibility that some fact or event has not been given due importance, or, conversely, their role has been excessively exaggerated. Finally, there is still the problem of the reliability of the historical sources themselves, which usually bear the stamp of bias and subjectivity.
System-structural method is based on the study of society as a complex system, which, in turn, consists of a number of subsystems that are in close interaction with each other. With the system-structural method, the researcher's attention is drawn first of all to the connections between the elements of the whole. Since subsystems are spheres of public life (economic, social, political and cultural), then all the diverse connections between them are studied, respectively. This method requires an interdisciplinary approach to historical research, but it also allows you to thoroughly study the most diverse aspects of the life of the past.
quantitative method used relatively recently. It is associated with the mathematical processing of digital data and quantitative characteristics of the phenomena and processes under study, which results in obtaining qualitatively new, in-depth information about the object of study.
Of course, there are other methods of historical research. They are usually based on an interdisciplinary approach to the process of historical knowledge. As an example, one can mention method of concrete social research, in which the principles of sociology are actively used, or method of social psychology, built with psychological factors, etc. However, summing up summary historical methodology, it is necessary to pay attention to two points: first, it is important to remember that in practical work not one, but a combination of two or more methods is usually used; secondly, one should be very careful in choosing a method in each specific case, because an incorrectly chosen method can only give appropriate results.
Literature work
In the vast majority of cases, independent work of students is somehow connected with scientific literature, so the importance of skillful handling of printed materials is beyond doubt. This is all the more relevant, because. Sociological surveys and studies of our days clearly show that the interest in reading among young people is declining. It is clear that there are many reasons for this - the computerization of our lives, the prevalence electronic means mass media, the limit of free time, etc., but all this does not negate the main thing, namely: the need to work with literature, and one must be able to work with literature.
Since the amount of published information is already quite large, and every year it increases more and more, it is useful to pay attention to the reading process itself. A student has to read a lot, so great importance should be given to fast, high-speed reading. A fairly significant amount of special and popular science literature is devoted to this issue, and it will not be difficult to purchase any methodological manual in a bookstore. However, I would like to make a few fundamental remarks here.
First, you need to read a lot. Reading should become a habit. Only those who read a lot will learn to read correctly. It is very useful to set yourself a constant norm for reading, for example, regular familiarization with periodicals (newspapers, magazines) and up to 100 pages of book text per day - this is not counting fiction, which is also necessary to read, if only to broaden one's horizons and raise one's general cultural level.
Secondly, you need to read carefully and try to understand what you read in the process of reading. To do this, you need to memorize the thoughts and ideas of the author, and not individual words, phrases or facts. It does not hurt to take notes for memory as you read.
Finally, thirdly, you should read with a quick vertical movement of the eyes - from top to bottom. At the same time, one should strive, as it were, to “photograph” the entire page at once and instantly bring into memory the main meaning of what was read. On average, this entire operation should take 30 seconds per page. With persistent and measured training, such a result is quite achievable.
Exam preparation requires a special reading technique. The amount of material that needs to be repeated or learned by the student to a certain period, usually large enough - most often it is a textbook or lecture notes. In this case, it should be read three times. The first time is a quick and introductory read. The second time you should read very slowly, carefully, thoughtfully, trying to remember and understand what you read. After that, you need to take a break and get distracted by doing other things. And just before the exam, read everything again quickly and fluently, restoring in memory what was forgotten.
Now as for working with educational literature. Undoubtedly, the most popular and commonly used books are university history textbooks. Here it should be noted right away that it is best to use them on the principle of "the less, the better." This is in no way connected with any negative or biased attitude towards certain authors and their textbooks. On the contrary, in general, the majority of institute history textbooks (and there are quite a few of them) are written by quite competent specialists and at a fairly high level. professional level. Moreover, the textbook is indispensable in preparing for an exam or a test, here you simply cannot do without it. But in the process of analyzing the issues of seminars or when students write essays or reports, the role of the textbook should be minimized. Textbooks, for all their differences in author's approaches and style, cover the same set of facts and events, present the same material. Students come to the institute already having experience of studying history at school and a coherent picture of the historical past, so they are more or less familiar with the bulk of historical information provided by textbooks. There is no need to duplicate what has already been learned before.
It is clear that the study of history, in principle, is carried out with the aim of developing a historical self-awareness of the personality, and the school is no exception here. But the study of history at a university is a qualitatively new, higher stage in this process, which involves the acquisition by a young person of the skills and ability to comprehensively theoretically comprehend both individual historical facts and events, and the entire historical development as a whole. Students should be able to select and analyze historical material, to master the methodology of its processing and interpretation - in a word, to see history in its own way, and this view must be strictly scientific.
How to achieve this? Of course, through a detailed and detailed study of the most important, controversial or little-known pages of the domestic past. And for this you need to read special research literature: books, articles, monographs written by professionals in their field, the best scientists of the past and present, who have their own point of view and are able to convincingly state and argue it. Only by delving into the author's train of thought, noticing interesting things, confronting opposing approaches, opinions and concepts with each other, recognizing the latest achievements of historical science, can one learn to think historically independently. In a word, you need to focus on the best and highest that the inquisitive human thought. In textbooks, we meet only the necessary, verified, well-established, intended for memorization and assimilation, therefore textbooks are best used as reference material, where you can find out what, who, where and when.
Of course, each teacher recommends to students what they need to read without fail, and this is usually enough. However, it is desirable that students themselves take the initiative and look for the materials they need for work on their own, since each library has catalogs - alphabetical and thematic. Yes, and in any scientific monograph, a list of the literature used by the author is necessarily placed, referring to which you can easily navigate in search of the articles and books you need on the topic. Independent selection of literature by students can only be welcomed, because the skills acquired in this case will be useful not only in the study of history, but in general in any scientific search.
Give a complete overview of historical literature and the features of its classification within the framework of this methodological manual- the task is obviously impossible. Let's try to do it at least in general terms. We should start with specialized historical journals, the role and importance of which is difficult to overestimate, since journals are unparalleled in terms of efficiency in presenting the latest scientific information, diversity of materials, diversity of content and expressed points of view. Historical journals that can be recommended to students are located both in the city libraries and in the library of our institute. This is, first of all, National history”and“ Questions of History ”, which regularly publish studies by leading Russian and foreign experts on a variety of problems in the history of our country. To a greater extent, this applies to the journal “Otechestvennaya istoriya”, whose specialization is already visible from the name, although very interesting and useful works can be found in Questions of History. Abundance of historical research, articles, reviews, reviews, etc. There are so many materials that, perhaps, any student will be able to find texts of interest to him there. And it should only be recalled that the last annual issue of any journal helps to understand this sea of information, in which there is necessarily a summary of everything printed during the year in the form of listing the names of authors and the titles of their articles, arranged in thematic order, indicating the number of the journal and pages, where this article was published.
"Patriotic History" and "Questions of History" are not the only periodicals covering the history of Russia. From time to time something interesting appears on the pages of Novy Mir, Nashe Sovremennik, Moskva, Zvezda. I would especially like to single out the Rodina magazine, which regularly publishes thematic issues entirely devoted to individual historical issues and problems. So, for example, No. 12 for 1995 is devoted entirely to publishing materials about the unknown pages of the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940, and in No. 6-7 for 1992 you can find out a lot of interesting things about Napoleon's invasion of Russia. By the way, a complete set of "Motherland" for several years is stored in the Cabinet of the Humanities of the OIATE.
However, there is no doubt that books are the main source of information, and it is work with them that is particularly effective. Scientific literature in history, in terms of content, chronology, and issues, it is traditionally divided into large collective works of a generalizing nature, comprehensive studies of individual historical events, and collective and individual monographs. In addition, books differ in their scientific level, and in the quantity and quality of the information contained in them, and in the research methodology, and in the system of evidence, which means that the approach to them should be differentiated. Some books are enough to skim through, in others - to get acquainted with the introduction and conclusions of the author, somewhere you need to pay attention to the literature used, and somewhere - to study individual chapters, others deserve close and thoughtful reading, etc. It is very useful in the process of studying literature to make extracts from it. They may concern both statistical and factual material, and the conceptual views of the author or his working methodology, but in any case they greatly help in the work. Needless to say, any literature studied by students must necessarily have the status of scientific. In no case should one stoop to the writings of some G.V. Nosovsky and A.T. Fomenko with their New chronology” or noisy scandalous opuses such as “Icebreaker” and “Den-M” by Mr. Rezun-Suvorov and a number of other lesser-known, but equally ambitious personalities with their “discoveries”. Unfortunately, too many irresponsible writers have recently divorced, trying to revise both Russian and (more broadly) world history. This is done, as a rule, by non-specialist amateurs exclusively for commercial or ideological purposes (the latter, however, is now less common). There is no smell of science in their "creations", which means that the truth is there - for a penny. You can trust only that literature that has passed the crucible of strict scientific criticism.
A few more words about books that can be recommended to students to help them for independent work. It is very useful to read the classics of historical thought, such as N.M. Karamzin, S.M. Solovyov and V.O. Klyuchevsky. Karamzin's name is connected, of course, primarily with his "History of the Russian State" in 12 volumes, which, among other things, is also an outstanding literary work, whose style well conveys the flavor of the era when history as a science was in its infancy. Karamzin can be read all at once, in its entirety, but it can also be read selectively, selecting individual chapters for specific seminars. The main work of S.M. Solovyov - 29-volume "History of Russia from ancient times", even today striking in its volume and huge amount carefully collected factual material. Of course, reading all these volumes is a rather difficult task, but by now, extracts from them and abridged versions of the History have been published (and more than once) in large editions, acquaintance with which would be useful for students studying the past of our country. For example, released in 1989 by publishers
METHODOLOGY OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH - 1) the theoretical provisions of historical science, which act as a means of discovering new historical facts or are used as a tool for knowing the past [V. V. Kosolapov]; 2) theoretical background specific historical research [N. A. Mininkov].
The methodology of historical research is a way of solving a scientific problem and achieving its goal - obtaining new historical knowledge. The methodology of historical research as a method of research activity is a system of theoretical knowledge, including the goal, objectives, subject, cognitive strategy, methods and methodology for the production of historical knowledge. This system includes knowledge of two types - subject and methodological. Subject theoretical knowledge is the result of specific historical research. This is theoretical knowledge about historical reality. Methodological theoretical knowledge is the result of special scientific research, the subject of which is the research activity of historians. This is theoretical knowledge about the ways research activities.
Theoretical knowledge of the subject and methodological content are included in the structure of the methodology of historical research, provided that they are internalized by the methodological consciousness of the researcher, as a result of which they become project and regulatory framework research activities. In the structure of the methodology of historical research, such theoretical knowledge functions as cognitive "filters" that mediate the interaction between the subject and the subject of historical research. Such "preconditional" or "out-of-source" knowledge is sometimes called patterns, which are a syncretic unity of the constructive and the conceptual. These are “images”, on the one hand, of the subject of historical research, and on the other hand, of the very process of its research.
In the structure of the methodology of historical research, the following levels can be distinguished: 1) a model of historical research as a system of normative knowledge that defines the subject area of a particular scientific research, its cognitive strategy, basic principles and cognitive means; 2) the paradigm of historical research as a model and standard for setting and solving a certain class of research problems accepted in the scientific community to which the researcher belongs; 3) historical theories related to subject area specific historical research that forms its scientific thesaurus, model of the subject and used as explanatory constructs or understanding concepts; 4) methods of historical research as ways of solving individual research problems.
It is necessary to distinguish between the concept of "methodology of historical research" and the concept of the methodology of history as a branch of special scientific research or a scientific discipline formed within the framework of historical science with the aim of theoretically ensuring the effectiveness of historical research conducted in it. The methodology of history as a branch of science, according to Russian historian the beginning of the 20th century by A. S. Lappo-Danilevsky, is divided into two parts: the theory of historical knowledge and the doctrine of the methods of historical thinking. In the 20th century, the subject area of methodology as a scientific discipline began to include the principles and methods of historical research, the laws of the process of historical knowledge, as well as such non-methodological issues as the meaning of history, the role of the masses in history, the laws of the historical process. At present, the methodology of history is considered as a scientific discipline that provides the organization research process in order to obtain new and most reliable knowledge [N. A. Mininkov]. Consequently, the subject of the methodology of history as a scientific discipline is historical research itself.
The selection of historical research as a subject of the methodology of history as a scientific discipline raises important questions: is this research expedient or is it arbitrary, what conditions determine the possibility of obtaining new historical knowledge, are there logic and norms for the research activity of a historian, is its process cognizable ?
The inner world of a historian always requires a certain freedom of creativity, it is associated with inspiration, intuition, imagination and some other unique mental qualities of a scientist. Therefore, in this respect, historical research as creativity is an art. At the same time, historical research, in order to be scientific, must be carried out in accordance with certain principles and requirements that a scientist must comply with. Therefore, freedom of creativity, "flashes of insight" in historical science inevitably coexist with the scientist's ideas about the necessary elements of a purposeful cognitive activity. Therefore, historical research is not only scientific creativity, but also, to a certain extent, a craft, that is, a cognitive activity subordinated to certain regulatory requirements. The study of these norms, bringing them into a system of purposeful activity, its theoretical justification makes it possible to exercise conscious control over the process of concrete historical research, constantly improve its practice, as well as transfer the experience of research skills and teach it. This is the direct practical significance of the methodology of history as a scientific discipline.
A. V. Lubsky
The definition of the concept is cited from the ed.: Theory and Methodology of Historical Science. Terminological dictionary. Rep. ed. A.O. Chubaryan. [M.], 2014, p. 274-277.
Literature:
Kosolapov VV Methodology and logic of historical research. Kiev. 1977. S. 50; Lappo-Danshevsky A.S. Methodology of history. M, 2006. S. 18; Lubsky A. V. Alternative models of historical research: conceptual interpretation of cognitive practices. Saarbriicken, 2010; Mipinkov N. A. Methodology of history: a guide for a novice researcher. Rostov n / D, 2004. S. 93-94: Smolensky N. I. Theory and methodology of history: textbook. allowance 2nd ed., ster. M., 2008. S. 265.
History as a subject and a science is based on historical methodology. If in many other scientific disciplines there are two main ones, namely observation and experiment, then only the first method is available for history. Even despite the fact that every true scientist tries to minimize the impact on the object of observation, he still interprets what he sees in his own way. Depending on the methodological approaches used by scientists, the world receives different interpretations of the same event, various teachings, schools, and so on.
There are the following methods of historical research:
- brain teaser,
- general scientific,
special,
- interdisciplinary.
historical research
In practice, historians have to use research based on logical and general scientific methods. The logical ones include analogy and comparison, modeling and generalization, and others.
Synthesis implies the reunion of an event or object from smaller components, that is, the movement from simple to complex is used here. The complete opposite of synthesis is analysis, in which one has to move from the complex to the simple.
No less important are such research methods in history as induction and deduction. The latter makes it possible to develop a theory based on the systematization of empirical knowledge about the object under study, deriving numerous consequences. Induction, on the other hand, translates everything from the particular to the general, often probabilistic, position.
Scientists also use analgia and comparison. The first makes it possible to see some similarity between different objects that have big number relations, properties and other things, and comparison is a judgment about the signs of difference and similarity between objects. Comparison is extremely important for qualitative and quantitative characteristics, classification, evaluation and other things.
The methods of historical research are especially distinguished by modeling, which only allows one to assume a connection between objects in order to reveal their location in the system, and generalization - a method that highlights common features that make it possible to make an even more abstract version of an event or some other process.
General scientific methods of historical research
In this case, the above methods are supplemented by empirical methods of knowledge, that is, experiment, observation and measurement, as well as theoretical methods of research, such as mathematical methods, transitions from the abstract to the concrete and vice versa, and others.
Special Methods of Historical Research
One of the most important in this area is which not only highlights the underlying problems of phenomena, but also points out similarities and features in historical processes, indicates the trends of certain events.
At one time, the theory of K. Marx was especially widespread, and it was opposed to which the civilizational method acted.
Interdisciplinary research methods in history
Like any other science, history is interconnected with other disciplines that help to understand the unknown in order to explain certain historical events. For example, using the techniques of psychoanalysis, historians have been able to interpret the behavior historical figures. Very important is the interaction between geography and history, which resulted in the cartographic method of research. Linguistics made it possible to learn a lot about early history based on the synthesis of the approaches of history and linguistics. There are also very close links between history and sociology, mathematics, and so on.
Research is a separate section of cartography, which is of great historical and economic importance. With its help, you can not only determine the place of residence of individual tribes, indicate the movement of tribes, etc., but also find out the location of minerals and other important objects.
Obviously, history is closely interconnected with other sciences, which greatly facilitate research and make it possible to obtain more complete and extensive information about the object under study.
HISTORICAL RESEARCH - 1) a system of theoretical and empirical procedures aimed at obtaining new knowledge necessary to achieve the goals (3); 2) a special type of cognitive activity, distinguishing feature which is to create new knowledge (4). Historical research as a special type of cognitive activity is associated with cognitive modeling of historical reality, the purpose of which is to obtain new historical knowledge using certain scientific means and research activities. Historical knowledge as a result of scientific research represents various models of historical reality as its formally structured images or representations, expressed in symbolic form, in the form of the language of historical science. Since these models are formally structured images or representations, they contain certain errors in relation to the historical reality they reproduce. This is due to the fact that no model can reproduce all its aspects, and therefore this or that model always leaves something out of consideration, due to which some aspects of the historical reality being modeled are described and explained incorrectly. Since any formal system is either incomplete or contradictory, historical knowledge as a model of historical reality always contains an error associated either with an incomplete description (a simple model) or with an inconsistent description ( complex model) of this reality. The error contained in the model is discovered as it begins to interfere with the solution of other problems associated with the modeled object. The scientific problems that arise due to such model errors encourage scientists to build new, more advanced models; however, the new models again contain errors, but with respect to other aspects of the historical reality being studied. The study of historical professional activity is carried out in a certain cultural and epistemological context and in order to be scientific, it must correspond to certain attributive features, such as: rationality; striving for truth; problematic; goal setting; reflexivity; objectivity; empiricism; theorism; methodology; dialogism; novelty; contextuality. I. and. how cognitive activity is a culturally organized and motivated activity directed at an object (a fragment of a historical
reality), therefore, the structure of historical research is the interaction-dialogue of the subject of historical research with its subject using such means as methodology, which determines the method of this interaction, and historical sources, which are the basis for obtaining empirical information about the subject of cognitive interest. Historical research is a certain sequence of interrelated cognitive actions, which can be expressed as the following logical scheme: the emergence of cognitive interest - the definition of the object of historical research - a critical analysis of the system of scientific knowledge about the object of historical research - the formulation of a scientific problem - the definition of the goal of research - the system analysis of the object research - setting research objectives - defining the subject of research - choosing the methodological foundations of research - determining the body of sources of empirical information - implementing research activities at the empirical and theoretical levels - obtaining new conceptually completed scientific knowledge. Cognitive interest in a certain fragment of historical reality, called the object of historical research, acts as a motive for research activities. Critical analysis of the system of scientific knowledge about the object of historical research makes it possible to formulate a scientific problem, and after its completion - to reflect on the scientific novelty of historical research. Critical analysis of the system of scientific knowledge, which implies the establishment of its authenticity, allows us to formulate the scientific problem of historical research as a question, answering which the scientist intends to obtain fundamentally new scientific knowledge. The scientific problem, without which, in principle, scientific research itself is impossible, sets its goal, which makes it possible to determine the boundaries of the subject area of historical research. The content of the subject of historical research is determined by its tasks, the formulation of which is carried out within the framework of the methodological consciousness of the scientist on the basis of a preliminary system analysis of the subject area of research. This analysis involves the construction of a cognitive model of the subject area of historical research as a whole, makes it possible to express it in a system of basic concepts, set tasks and define the subject of research in the form of a list of questions, the answers to which make it possible to implement a cognitive research strategy aimed at obtaining new historical knowledge on based on a representative base of sources of empirical information with the help of the most effective methodological guidelines associated with the solution of a particular class of research problems. This kind of methodological guidelines, or scientific paradigms, developed within the framework of various models of historical research determine certain cognitive actions of the scientist in the course of its implementation. In their structure, one can single out actions related to: a) obtaining representative empirical information from historical sources (source study level); b) obtaining scientific facts based on empirical information, their systematization and description, creation of empirical knowledge (empirical level); c) with the interpretation and explanation of scientific facts, the development of theoretical knowledge (theoretical level); d) conceptualization of scientific empirical and theoretical knowledge (conceptual level); e) presentation and translation of scientific historical knowledge (presentation and communication level).
A.V. Lubsky
The definition of the concept is cited from the ed.: Theory and Methodology of Historical Science. Terminological dictionary. Rep. ed. A.O. Chubaryan. [M.], 2014, p. 144-146.
Literature:
1) Kovalchenko I. D. Methods of historical research. Moscow: Nauka, 1987; 2) Lubsky A. V. Alternative models of historical research: conceptual interpretation of cognitive practices. Saarbriicken: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing, 2010; 3) Mazur L. H. Methods of historical research: textbook. allowance. 2nd ed. Yekaterinburg: Publishing house Ural, un-ta, 2010. S. 29; 4) Rakitov A. I. Historical knowledge: Systemic-epistemological approach. M.: Politizdat, 1982. S. 106; 5) Tosh D. Striving for the truth. How to master the skill of a historian / Per. from English. M.: Publishing house "The whole world", 2000.