The Logic of History

Can we find a way to approach history with new confidence? McCullagh takes the history debate to a new stage with bold replies to the major questions historians face today. The Logic of History reveals the rational basis for historians' descriptions, interpretations and explanations of past events. McCullagh defends the practice of history as more reliable than has recently been acknowledged. Historians, he argues, make their accounts of the past as fair as they can and avoid misleading their readers. He explains and discusses postmodern criticisms of history, providing students and teachers of history with a renewed validation of their practice.

ISBN	0415223997	Pages	212
ISBN13	9780415223997 (What's this?)	Volumes	1
Publisher	Taylor & Francis Ltd	Weight (grammes)	340
Imprint	Routledge	Published in	London
Format	Paperback	Height (mm)	234
Publication date	30 Oct 2003	Width (mm)	156
Library of Congress	D13.2, D13.2	Spine width (mm)	13
DEWEY	901	Academic level	Tertiary education, Professional / Scholarly
DEWEY edition	DC21

	Acknowledgements
	Introduction	1
1	The possibility of historical knowledge	5
2	The meanings of texts, actions and events	18
3	Justifying descriptions of the past	43
4	Causes of human actions	70
5	Types of historical narrative	116
6	Judging historical interpretations	138
7	Causes and conditions in history	152
8	Historical explanations	170
	Conclusion	193
	References	195
	Name index	207
	Subject index	211

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