A systemic approach to the philosophy of history
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a systemic philosophy of history, which, to the author's knowledge, is new in the study of history. As such this is an innovation into the study of history.
Design/methodology/approach
The question studied is: What constitutes a systemic approach to the philosophy of history? In this study the author first develops the systemic hypothesis and the relationship between history and the past, then develops a systemic perspective on ontology and epistemology.
Findings
The materialism, idealism debate is discussed and an answer given to the question, why study history from a systemic perspective?
Originality/value
The paper presents five reasons for studying history and the historical process itself. A systemic approach to history views history as a long‐term perspective contrasted with spectacular events. This results in individuals and exceptional events being examined in their social context as part of a social system.
Keywords
Citation
Johannessen, J. (2012), "A systemic approach to the philosophy of history", Kybernetes, Vol. 41 No. 3/4, pp. 368-385. https://doi.org/10.1108/03684921211229460
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2012, Emerald Group Publishing Limited