Term Papers on The Quarrel About Historical Explanation

Term Paper Title	The Quarrel About Historical Explanation
# of Words	591
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	2.36

The Quarrel About Historical Explanation

     The discussion of the philosophical question of historical explanation
is in reality a disagreement concerning the nature of the philosophic method.
     There are primarily two sides taken in this argument, those who agree
with Carl Hempel and those that do not.
     According to Hempel a historical event is only sufficiently explained
when it logically fits a set of confirmed pre-existing conditions along with
some universal laws.
     Certainly all things cannot easily be assigned to rules and laws.
Political coups, assassinations and revolutions are too complex for such a rigid
explanation.  And who is to say what perquisites there are for situations.
Certainly there is no one who can predict every instance of a given event, there
are just too many variables.
     Hempel then notes that Historians are seldom able to stick to his
procedure and at best can only make an explanation sketch.  Hempel seems to be
saying then, that the majority of explanations surrounding historical events are
inadequate and incomplete.
     There are three main divisions of anti-Hempelians.  There are those that
agree with Hempel to the point that there are rules and general laws that can be
followed, but a historian's explanation is adequate if all he can provide is a
sketch.  The second group states that the general laws are not necessary and as
long as the explanation provides an understandable narrative, it is complete.
The final group believes that only one condition is necessary, and if more
information is needed, one only needs to elaborate on that one condition.
     The Hempelians and the anti-Hempelians both have common ground.  They
are both engaged in the philosophy of history, but this is where the agreement
stops for even the groups starting points are different.
     Hempelians give their explanations to answer the question of w...

This is ONLY a preview of the article. If you would like to view the entire document, you must subscribe to Digital Term Papers. Please register below now!

Digital Term Papers has over 63,000 essays, term papers, and book notes online. Many paper sites will charge you hundreds of dollars for a single paper. Digital Term Papers only charges $14.95 for a one month membership with instant account activation!

Don't waste anymore time! Join NOW!!!

1 Month (automatic renewal) ($14.95)

3 Months (automatic renewal) ($29.95)

6 Months (one-time billing) ($39.95)

Pay by: