Thinking History. Positivism

History has not always been written in the same way. Over time, historians have tended to value certain aspects over others, leaving some in a secondary position or even ignoring them entirely. Some of these approaches to history have led to research based on rumor, legend, subjective perspectives of other historians, or documents that are not fully truthful. Knowing and reflecting on different trends allows the historian to build a more critical sense, both with primary sources and with the reflections and works of other historians. Adam Schaff in his work History and Truth provides an excellent introduction to the various perspectives surrounding the French Revolution:

"Essential differences are discovered between different historians, not only in explaining and interpreting historical events but also in describing and selecting the elements that constitute them, that is, in articulating the historical process."

Schaff, 1970, p. 10

Positivism marked a change in how history was approached, moving from a potentially fictional and embellished version to one that is more scientific and documented. The Royal Spanish Academy's Dictionary defines positivism as: "a philosophical system that accepts only the experimental method and rejects all a priori notions and universal and absolute concepts." As can be deduced, positivism derives from positive, and if we look up the term "positive," its first definition is: "certain, effective, true, and without doubt" (Vitoria, 2009). In its etymology, positum means "the given" or "the data." This aligns perfectly with the positivist view of history, where every historical narrative must revolve around documentary sources and facts.

To better understand the importance of positivism in history and the paradigm shift it brought about, we need to trace the long journey of history from its earliest writings.

In ancient Egypt, for example, historian Manetho (3rd century BC), with his work Aegyptiaca, sought, according to what has come down to us through the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (37-100 AD), to glorify the reigning ruler based on the records of temple archives (Aguayo Hidalgo, 2022, p. 57).

In Republican Rome, we find Titus Livius (59 BC - 17 AD) writing the history of the Roman people from its beginnings in the work Ab urbe condita. The author encountered various sources, on one hand those coming from annals and on the other hand legends. In his work, he sometimes uses legendary accounts while indicating their nature. At times he rejects them outright, and at others, simply accepts them without further indication (Casado Quintanilla, 2012, p. 46).

Next, in Imperial Rome we find Cornelius Tacitus (54-117 AD), who in his work is known for frequently citing the sources he used to verify his version. This can be seen in his work Annales, where in the introduction he mentions his motto sine ira et studio, with which Tacitus expresses his intention of writing impartially and objectively (Fernández, 2002, p. 9).

With the arrival of Christianity, historical narratives are understood as simple events that must be observed from the perspective of Providence. From this it is deduced that different historical civilizations are not accidental processes but links in a broad development of humanity established by God. This leads to what is known as ecclesiastical history and cristina chronography, which seeks to order the descending line leading up to Christ. One of the first works that structures this chronology appears in the 3rd century, Chronographiae, by Julius Africanus (160-240). He, thanks to the works of Josephus, Manetho and other secular scholars establishes the birth of Christ at year 5500 after Adam, fulfilling the goal of this historiographical trend (Prinzivalli, 2018, p. 277). Later on, but still in the Middle Ages, we see that historians remain concerned with measuring time while trying to explain historical development as divine designs over humanity. Within this search for precision in chronologies, we find the ecclesiastical historian Bede the Venerable (673-735), who establishes in his work De temporum ratione, the need to correct the Julian calendar with respect to the astronomical year due to the deviations that had been occurring in the celebration of Easter (Plaza Picón & González Marrero, 2006, pp. 118-120). In this way, chronological narration gains importance leading into the golden age of medieval chronicles. An example is Historia de rebus Hispaniae or Historia Gothica by Rodrigo Ximénez de Rada, archbishop of Toledo (Funes, 2010, p. 2). From these works one can extract an invitation to reflect on the past as a means to avoid repeating the same mistakes.

With the appearance of the Renaissance and Humanism, historiography sees its center of gravity shift from a theocentric history to an anthropocentric one. This is evident in the work of Florentine author Dante Alighieri at the beginning of the 14th century, De Monarchia (Alighieri et al., 1992, p. 9).

A little later we find Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) with his maxim of history as "the teacher of life." For Machiavelli, man is responsible for his successes and failures, distancing himself from the interpretation through divine influence. His sources are the accumulated experience in political activity and the study of ancient Greco-Latin authors. Among his works stand out The Prince or Florentine Histories (Silva Vega, 2018, p. X).

With the entry into the 17th and 18th centuries, Descartes' philosophy awakens interest in seeking rigor and critical spirit. Within this period we find historians like Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (1627-1704), with his work The Discourse on Universal History, where he maintains the historiographical tradition of understanding history as the work of Providence. Opposite him is found Giambatista Vico (1668-1744), who understands history as the study of human past. Vico seeks to define the principles of historical method since he believes it differs from that applied in natural sciences. He defined three methodological principles for History: 1) there exist similar historical periods although with differences, even if they are separated by time; 2) there exists a succession of historical cycles: brute force, heroic strength, age of justice, period of originality, reflective construction and finally opulence, which leads to abandonment and waste; and lastly, 3) history does not repeat itself but the new cycle always manifests differences. As these cycles recur, their stages would presumably improve. Among the advice he offers for historical study is his mention to review sources even if they have already been validated and reviewed by authorities in the field (Casado Quintanilla, 2012, pp. 72-73).

Entering the 19th century, as revolutionary movements emerged in France, some professors at the University of Göttingen (Hannover) began to analyze history meticulously and with a high critical spirit. They no longer just sought to determine more precisely and accurately the dates of historical events but wanted to integrate economic, demographic, and institutional data. This trend was called historical positivism. In Germany, Niebuhr, Ranke, and Mommsen stood out, while in France the positivist authors were associated with L’Ecole de Chartres. 

Barthold Georg Niebuhr (1776-1831) was one of these historians who put into practice this more critical view in his works, known for inaugurating the "historical critical method." An example is his study Roman History, where he analyzes all documents philologically (Moradiellos, 2001, pp. 153-154). This marks the beginning of documented history that moves away from the chronicle of kings.

The greatest reference for historical positivism is Leopold von Ranke (1795-1886). His most famous work is The History of the Popes. This work stands out for its frequent mention to original documentary sources. For Ranke, history is knowing the past "as it was" (Barros, 2014, p. 147).

In France, positivism emerged through the work of Auguste Comte, but within philosophy. His most relevant work in this line is The Law of Three States. In it he defines that humans go through three phases: mythological-theological, metaphysical and positive. The phrase "any proposition which cannot be strictly reduced to the mere statement of a fact, particular or general, offers no real and intelligible sense" (Comte, 1980, p. 28) well encapsulates much of his thought.

Although positivism brought about an important change in the conception of history, criticism quickly emerged against the movement. Part of this criticism came from the limits that positivism placed on the interpretation of sources, condemning work to a meticulous collection of data with little analysis. The historiographical current that would challenge positivism is known as the School of the Annales led by Marc Bloch and Lucien Febvre, starting from the journal Annales d'histoire économique et sociale founded in 1929. With this, a new era of historiography with wide influence up to today was opened, led by historians like Roger Chartier within the fourth generation of the Annales. This will be discussed further in another article.

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