Re: [asa] historical science?

I've been arguing on another thread that the importance of terminology shouldn't be overrated but I do think that classifying cosmology & geology as Geisteswissenschaften would be rather odd. According to Pannenberg (in Theology and the Philosophy of Science, p.72) the term goes back to Dilthey who used it to include "the totality of the sciences which have as their object historical and social reality." While "historical" is included, it seems pretty clear that human history is in view, as is clear from the fact that "human sciences" is used as the corresponding English term in the English translation of Pannenberg's book. & anyway, doesn't it seem strange to call geology a "science of the spirit"? (The breadth of the German word Geist should also be noted: It can mean "mind" as well as "spirit.") I see also that Cassel's defines Geisteswissenschaften as "the Arts (contrasted with the Sciences)" - which also seems strange.

As to the substantive question, I think it would be simple enough to say that an "historical science" deals with phenomena that have happened primarily in the past. The qualification "primarily" is needed because of course geology (e.g.) does of course consider the present state of things even though a great deal of its work is inference about the past.

The distinctive difficulties in such a science have to do with the facts that (a) the phenomena that are studied are in the past and (b) in most cases controlled experiments can't be done on the phenomena in question. Neither of these makes these sciences qualitatively different from a science like chemistry. We can observe the past via light signals & "time capsules" like fossils. The data from such observations is theory laden but that is true of all data to a greater or lesser extent. & while we can't do controlled experiments on, e.g., stars, there are so many stars of different types, ages, environments &c that the experiments have in effect been done for us.

There is some point in talking about "historical sciences," though for geology & astronomy it might be better to say "natural historical sciences." But the notion that there is some fundamental difference between them and other natural sciences is spurious.

Shalom
George
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ted Davis" <tdavis@messiah.edu>
To: <asa@calvin.edu>; <michael.andrea.r@ukonline.co.uk>; <alexanian@uncw.edu>
Sent: Sunday, September 09, 2007 10:37 PM
Subject: [asa] historical science?

>>>> "Alexanian, Moorad" <alexanian@uncw.edu> 09/09/07 7:01 PM >>>asks
> Michael Roberts:
>
> Some time ago, I asked for a definition of historical science and none was
> forthcoming. Why not advance a definition so that we know what you mean by
> the term "historical science?"
>
> ***
>
> Michael of course can answer for himself. Why don't I simply note that in
> one of his final books, Ernst Mayr said that he regards evolutionary biology
> as one of the Geisteswissenschaften (sciences of the spirit, such as
> history), not one of the Naturwissenschaften (sciences of nature). To the
> latter belong physics, chemistry, molecular biology, and the like; we can
> observe everything now and repeat it. To the former, cosmology, geology,
> and other "historical" sciences.
>
> This particular distinction is pushed to the extreme by YECs, and somewhat
> less but still strongly by some IDs. The fact that Mayr regarded it as
> having some legitimacy is very interesting, though he surely would not have
> pushed it as far as even the IDs. Mayr's view is, incidentally, referenced
> in at least one version of the science education standards advocated by the
> "Intelligent Design Network," which is technically not related to TDI (which
> hasn't copyrighted the term, ID) and is dominated by YECs, but sometimes the
> resemblance is close.
>
> Ted
>
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Received on Mon Sep 10 08:43:15 2007