Abstract

This essay critically examines the so-called ‘unnaturalness’ of historical thinking. I identify and analyse three lines of argument frequently invoked by historians to defend the validity of historical inquiry in response to scepticism, which is often couched in postmodern terms. In doing so, I highlight that these lines of argument are predicated upon historians’ thought processes and concepts being domain general. This idea of historical thinking as part of our ordinary thinking could help us develop a history curriculum in which students are required to employ those processes and concepts to solve both everyday and historical questions. With such a curriculum, students could more easily see the relevance of history education to their daily lives.

摘要

这篇文章批判性地审视了历史思维的所谓“不自然”。我确定并分析了历史学家经常援引的三条论据，以捍卫历史调查的有效性，以回应怀疑主义，怀疑主义通常以后现代术语表达。在这样做时，我强调这些论点是基于历史学家的思维过程和概念是领域普遍性的。这种将历史思维作为我们日常思维一部分的想法可以帮助我们开发历史课程，要求学生利用这些过程和概念来解决日常和历史问题。通过这样的课程，学生可以更容易地看到历史教育与他们日常生活的相关性。