Yet, if she really means that, then she is restricting history to. Tisch professor of history at harvard university and the william ziegler professor of business administration at harvard business school. Mar, 2014 counterfactual history is misguided and outdated, as the first world war debate shows. Of such historical endeavors, four questions must i will write only about the 90 or so page introduction to this volume by the editor, niall ferguson, which i began by reading assiduously and ended by skimming quickly. Librarything is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers. Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer no kindle device required. Virtual history is the brainchild of niall ferguson, a fellow and tutor in modern history at jesus.
The book of things that never happened psris book blog. Counterfactuals, thought experiments and singular causal. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading virtual history. What if nazi germany had defeated the soviet union. Alternatives and counterfactuals by chris giametta, david j. Niall ferguson was born april 18, 1964, in glasgow. Virtual history niall ferguson is fellow and tutor in modern history at jesus college, oxford. Counterfactual thinking university of british columbia. The first third of the book however can be a bit deep, and some of it went over my head. The metalinguistic account initiated by nelson goodman in 1947 see also chisholm 1955, mackie 1973, tichy 1984 analyses counterfactuals in terms of an entailment relationship between the antecedent plus an additional set of statements or propositions, and the consequent. Bace97e virtual history alternatives and counterfactuals.
In literature, the genre of alternative history has been used for a wide spectrum of purposes. The counterfactual and the factual notes on liberty. Niall ferguson, author of the highly acclaimed the pity of war, leads the charge in this historically rigorous series of separate voyages into imaginary time and provides farreaching answers to these. He made significant contributions to philosophy of language, philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of science, decision theory, epistemology, metaethics and aesthetics. Hamburg business and german politics in the era of inflation 18971927 1993, virtual history. Multiple counterfactuals are possible, as multiple desirable outcomes can exist, and there may be several ways to achieve any of these outcomes. Fergusons brilliant 90page introduction doubles as a manifesto on the methodology of counterfactual history. He writes regularly for the times literary supplement, and lives in oxford. The study of counterfactual speculation has increasingly engaged the interest of scholars in a wide range of domains such. And counterfactuals can encourage readers to think about the contingent nature of history an exercise that can help build empathy and diminish feelings of national, cultural, and racial exceptionalism. What if britain had stayed out of the first world war. David lewis 19412001 was one of the most important philosophers of the 20th century. Alternatives and counterfactuals by niall ferguson free pdf d0wnl0ad, audio books, books to read, good books to read, cheap books, good. He is the author of paper and iron, the house of rothschilds, and the pity of war.
Edited by niall ferguson, virtual history applies counterfactual arguments to decisive moments in modern history. But when it got to the historical scenarios, and the author analysed possible alternatives, i was absolutely hooked and i struggled to put it down. Alternatives and counterfactuals main market by ferguson, niall isbn. According to him most economic laws are counterfactual in their nature and do not have to rely on ceteris paribus assumptions. With an overdrive account, you can save your favorite libraries for ataglance information about availability. Alternatives and counterfactuals kindle edition by ferguson, niall. Ferguson begins his introductory essay to this thoughtprovoking volume with the phrase, what if. Bernstein published on hlaw january, 2000 whether dealing with students or with gener. Alternatives and counterfactuals niall ferguson these include the pity of war on wwi, the war of the world about the major conflicts in the 20th century including a stunning chapter on the armed slave labor camp that was the soviet union, and this book virtual history on counterfactual or what if history. African studies american studies ancient near east and egypt art history asian studies book history and cartography biblical studies classical. Alternatives and counterfactuals por niall ferguson disponible en rakuten kobo. Apr 07, 2016 what if hitler had decided to postpone his invasion of russia in 1941 or had been successful in defeating stalin before the russian winter hit hard. Virtual history by niall ferguson penguin books australia.
Alternatives and counterfactuals niall ferguson isbn. To determine its truth value in a given scenario, one has to consider whether in the closest historically possible scenario in which. In any portrait of the future, chance always forms a blind spot which the minds eye can never fathom. Alternatives and counterfactuals by niall ferguson. Im setting aside the major problem of engaging in historical counterfactuals, which as a historian i find problematic and uninteresting. A counterfactual conditional abbreviated cf, is a conditional with a false ifclause. Theory, narrative, and counterfactuals in historical institutionalism by giovanni capoccia and r. Alternatives, counterfactuals, and the bible, biblical interpretation on deepdyve, the largest online rental service for scholarly research with thousands of academic publications available at your fingertips. Niall ferguson is fellow and tutor in modern history at jesus college, oxford. If history displays some characteristics of chaotic systems, the longer a counterfactual is stretched, the more assumptions must be added, and it becomes impossible to substantiate. Roese northwestern university counterfactuals are mental representations of alternatives to the past and produce consequences that are both beneficial and aversive to the individual. Alternatives and counterfactuals by niall ferguson online at alibris.
How would england look if there had been no cromwell. But virtual history challenges this complacency as leading historians apply counterfactual arguments to decisive moments in modern history. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The term counterfactual conditional was coined by nelson goodman in 1947, extending roderick chisholms 1946 notion of a contrarytofact conditional. Counterfactuals, thought experiments and singular causal analysis in history i and abstract thought experiments are ubiquitous in science but especially prominent in domains in which experimental and observational data are scarce. The concept of the closest possible world, or the smallest change to the world that can be made to obtain a desirable outcome, is key throughout the discussion of counterfactuals. When historical counterfactuals are stretched across too many causal links, they become too difficult to substantiate. Virtual history features contributions from talented, imaginative and wellregarded historians, led by niall ferguson. Counterfactual history, also sometimes referred to as virtual history, is a recent form of historiography which attempts to answer what if questions known as counterfactuals.
Jun 05, 2017 what does counterfactual history mean. Cold war historiography vividly illustrates how the selection of the counterfactual question to be asked generally. Niall ferguson has written several fine books that are mustreads for educated people. Counterfactuals and historical possibility some counterfactuals clearly involve historical possibility, and some clearly do not. He specializes in financial and economic history as well as the history of empire.
If the inline pdf is not rendering correctly, you can download the pdf file here. Dick used an alternative world, in which the axis powers won the second world war and divided the usa between germany and japan, in order to explore the nature of human decency associated with the american ophile japanese occupation in san francisco and fanatic. Virtual historyalternatives and counterfactuals by niall. Counterfactuals synonyms, counterfactuals pronunciation, counterfactuals translation, english dictionary definition of counterfactuals. Counterfactual history wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Historians have traditionally refused to ask questions of the past, preferring to assume that whatever happened was inevitable. Alternatives and counterfactuals by ferguson, niall. Jun 02, 2011 tellingly, even the term alternate history is not a matter of consensus among englishlanguage studies. Volume 15, number 4 winter 2012 in his important contribution, jorg guido hulsmann 2003 attempted to redefine the method of economic science.
Counterfactual history, also sometimes referred to as virtual history, is a form of historiography that attempts to answer what if questions known as counterfactuals. Against a backdrop of the functional benefits of counterfactual thinking, two distinct. Counterfactual theories of causation stanford encyclopedia. Mar 17, 2014 what if counterfactuals were acceptable in history. International journal for theory and analysis of literature and communication on deepdyve, the largest online rental service for scholarly research with thousands of academic publications available at your fingertips. These include the pity of war on wwi, the war of the world about the major conflicts in the 20th century including a stunning chapter on the armed slave labor camp that was the soviet union, and this book virtual history on counterfactual or what if history. Alternatives and counterfactuals in pdf or epub format and read it directly on your mobile phone, computer or any device. Alternatives and counterfactuals by niall ferguson isbn. Squibs and dlsccsst0n indicates that the speaker is not sure whether 11 is true. Jan 01, 1997 obviously, most sentences in such a history might not actually be counterfactuals, but the main theses will be. Alternatives and counterfactuals by pan macmillan paperback, 1998 at the best online prices at ebay. Turning now to counterfactuals, one finds three main approaches.
In t r o d u c t i o n the concept of critical junctures is an essential building block of historical institutionalism. If the famous cold war game of chicken between kennedy and khrushchev during the cuban missile crisis had gone differently, would. Counterfactual history meaning counterfactual history definition counterfactual history explanation. Alternatives and counterfactuals by ferguson, niall and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. First, it aims at highlighting one difference albeit in degree and not in kind in how counterfactuals work in general history, on the one hand, and in history. Alternatives and counterfactuals edited by niall ferguson historiographical counterfactuals and historical contingency tucker 1999 history and theory wiley online library. Counterfactuals and historical possibility philsciarchive. Recent research on counterfactual thinking is discussed in terms of its implications for decision making. These apparently contradictory effects are integrated in a functionalist model of counterfactual thinking. Historiographical counterfactuals and historical contingency.
Posted on march 17, 2014 by adam shapiro as historians it seems like were always cautioned against saying what if but the truth is that doing so is a necessary part of history and to pretend otherwise is simply irresponsible. Alternatives and counterfactuals by niall ferguson for online ebook. Miller, niall ferguson niall ferguson has written several fine books that are mustreads for educated people. The guiding idea behind counterfactual analyses of causation is the thought that as david lewis puts it we think of a cause as something that makes a difference, and the difference it makes must be a difference from what would have happened without it. Virtual history alternatives and counterfactuals by niall ferguson. The assertion john has stopped beating his wife is made only conditionally. Hamburg business and german politics in the era of inflation 18971927 which was shortlisted for the history today book of the year award.
Alternatives and counterfactuals enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. What if counterfactuals were acceptable in history. Counterfactuals, as such whatif speculations are generally termed by the aficionados, are often. The implications of virtual history deserve to be meditated by every historian. It is, at the very root, the idea of conjecturing on what did not happen, or what might have happened, in order to understand what. What if there had been no american war of independence.
Counterfactuals, if done well, can force a supermeticulous look at the way historians use evidence. Thus, for instance, when the causal analysis of singular. From counterfactual history to counternarrative history. Alternatives and counterfactuals edited by niall ferguson. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic fiction. Speculative history at its best, in which a talented team of historians, led by niall ferguson, explore what might have happened if nine momentous events had turned out differently. It seeks to explore history and historical incidents by means of extrapolating a timeline in which certain key historical events did not happen or had an outcome which. Alternatives and counterfactuals by ferguson, niall from amazons fiction books store. Niall ferguson, author of the highly acclaimed the pity of war, leads the charge in this historically rigorous series of separate voyages into imaginary time and provides farreaching answers to these intriguing questions. This is one the more interesting books i have read on counterfactuals, or alternative history, as they are better known. Alternatives and counteractuals edited by niall ferguson basic b books a member of the perseus books group virtual history w a s f i r s t p u b l i s h e d i n h a r d c o v e r in g r e a t b r i t a i n b y p i c a d o r in 1 9 9 7. May 01, 2010 in response to bryan caplans excellent post, what if lenins stroke came sic five years sooner, historian susan, in the comments section writes. Counterfactual thinking is a concept in psychology that involves the human tendency to create possible alternatives to life events that have already occurred. He has also written numerous articles on nineteenth and.
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