Knowingo
The Whig Interpretation of History
Why do historians so often judge the past by the present, and what does that cost our understanding of it?
At a glance
- Author
- Herbert Butterfield
Why read it
- You will spot the habit of sorting historical figures into those who helped progress and those who hindered it
- You will learn why shortening history can distort it when a neat theory is imposed on events
- You will be able to meet a strange past belief on its own terms before judging it
Who it is for
- A history student writing essays that must avoid hindsight
- A reader who distrusts stories of steady progress
- A teacher helping pupils see the past as unlike the present
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