Historical determinism

For the theory that history should not be judged by present standards, see Historicism.

Historical determinism is the belief that events in history are entirely determined or constrained by various prior forces and, therefore, in a certain sense, inevitable. It is the philosophical view of determinism applied to the process or direction by which history unfolds. Historical determinism places the cause of the event behind it.

The concept of determinism appeared in the 19th century. The main idea is that certain factors determine the existence of humans and therefore limit the scope of their free will. In history, this is an approach that holds that history is intrinsically meaningful. Used as a pejorative, it is normally meant to designate a rigid finalist or mechanist conception of historical unfolding that makes the future appear as an inevitable and predetermined result of the past.

Relationship to historical materialism

Historical determinism has been opposed by historical materialists such as Karl Marx, who have argued that people make their own decisions, even if the decisions are influenced by material conditions.

See also

• Determinism
• Dialectical materialism
• Economic determinism
• Environmental determinism
• Free will
• Geographic determinism
• Hegelianism
• Historical materialism
• Marxism
• Myth of progress
• Technological determinism

Bibliography

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• Brites Pereira, Luis; Luiz, John Manuel (2019). "Institutional drivers, historical determinism, and economic development in Mozambique" (PDF). International Journal of Emerging Markets. 15 (4): 767–789. doi:10.1108/ijoem-01-2019-0024. S2CID 210054631.
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• Hunt, Ronald J. (1985). "Marxism's Unseen Hand: Friedrich Engels & the Rise of Historical Determinism". Polity. 18 (2): 340–349. doi:10.2307/3234954. JSTOR 3234954. S2CID 201392052.
• Martin, Ruhr (1995). "Cohen versus Gouldner: historical materialism as a determinism". South African Journal of Sociology. 26 (1): 26–34. doi:10.1080/02580144.1995.10431711.
• Misztal, Barbara; Freundlieb, Dieter (August 2003). "The Curious Historical Determinism of Randall Collins". European Journal of Sociology. 44 (2): 247–269. doi:10.1017/S0003975603001267. S2CID 144914434.
• Nagel, Ernest (March 1960). "Determinism in History". Philosophy and Phenomenological Research. 20 (3): 291–317. doi:10.2307/2105051. ISSN 1933-1592. JSTOR 2105051.

External links

• Philo (22 August 2022). "Historical determinism". ISM book.