cognitive function of history. Subject, functions of history. Basic methods in historical nuk

1. History is an ordered study of:

the past of mankind (countries, peoples);

individual aspects of the company's activities;

revealing regularities and tendencies of the historical process. The content of history is a historical process that is revealed in the phenomena of people's lives.

History is one of the most important social sciences and is closely related to other social sciences: sociology, psychology, philosophy, linguistics, etc. Unlike other sciences, history:

considers the process of development of society as a whole;

analyzes the totality of phenomena public life, all its aspects (economy, politics, life, etc.).

Interdisciplinary sciences (historical geography, historical geology, philosophy of history, etc.) are being created at the intersection of historical and other sciences.

2* History is a diversified science. Independent branches of historical knowledge:

economic history;

social history;

civil and military history;

history of state and law;

history of religion;

ethnography (the study of the earth and the culture of peoples);

archeology (the study of history with the help of material sources of antiquity).

According to the latitude of the object under study history is made up of:

the history of the world as a whole (worldwide, or universal)";

history of continents; "

history of individual countries (peoples, groups of peoples).

to the most significant auxiliary historical sciences include:

source study (study of historical sources);

historiography (description and analysis of the views And concepts of historians, the study of patterns in the development of historical science). Auxiliary historical disciplines have a relatively narrow subject of study, study it in detail.

According to the subjects of research, the following auxiliary disciplines can be distinguished:

chronology (time reference systems);

paleography (handwritten monuments of history);

diplomacy (historical acts);

metrology (system of measures);

sphragistics (prints);

flag science, heraldry, genealogy, toponymy, etc.

3. History fulfills several socially significant functions. This:

cognitive, intellectually developing function;

political function;

worldview function;

educational function.

Cognitive, intellectually developing function of history consists of:

in learning historical path countries (peoples);

in an objective reflection of the phenomena and processes of the history of mankind (from the standpoint of historicism).

The Political Function of History is V that:

historical facts are theoretically comprehended;

patterns of development of society are revealed.

Thus, history as a science helps to develop a scientifically based political course. History, its factual side is the foundation of the science of society.

Worldview function of history: a worldview (a view of the world, society, the laws of its development) can be scientific if it is based on objective reality (historical facts). The educational function of history lies in the fact that knowledge of the history of one's people and world history

forms civic qualities (patriotism and internationalism); shows the role of the individual and the people in the development of society; allows you to know the moral and moral values ​​of mankind in their development.

Methodology and principles historical science

Methods of historical knowledge.

Special-historical methods.

Study Principles historical facts.

The method (method) of cognition is a way of research, a way of constructing and substantiating knowledge.

Subject to and combination of all the principles and methods of knowledge, strict scientific character and reliability in the study of the historical past are ensured.

More than 2000 years ago, two main approaches to historical thought emerged that still exist today:

idealistic concept,

materialistic (dialectical-materialistic) concept. Representatives of the idealistic concept believe that spirit and consciousness are primary and more important than matter and nature. At the heart of the historical process - human soul and mind.

Materialistic concept: material life is primary in relation to people's consciousness. Economic processes in society determine the spiritual development of people, their relationships. The basis of modern Russian historical science is the dialectical-materialist method of research.

The dialectical-materialistic concept considers the development of society as a natural-historical process, which:

determined by objective laws;

is under the influence of a subjective factor (the activity of the masses, classes, parties, etc.).

Special-historical research methods:

chronological method (presentation of historical material in chronological sequence);

synchronous method (simultaneous study of events occurring in society);

dichronic method (periodization method);

method of historical modeling;

statistical method.

Historical periods

The division of history into certain periods is used for classification in terms of certain general ideas. The names and boundaries of individual periods may depend on the geographic region and the dating system. In most cases, the names are given retrospectively, that is, they reflect the system of assessments of the past from the point of view of subsequent eras, which can affect the researcher, and therefore periodization should be treated with due caution.

History (historical period) in the classical sense begins with the advent of writing. The period preceding its appearance is called the prehistoric period. In Russian historiography, the following major periods of world history are distinguished:

Primitive society: in the Middle East - until c. 3000 BC e. (unification of Upper and Lower Egypt)

Ancient world: in Europe - until 476 AD. e. (fall of the Roman Empire)

Middle Ages: 476 - end of the 15th century (beginning of the Age of Discovery)

Early Modern Age: end of the 15th century. - 1789 (beginning of the French Revolution)

Modern times: 1789 - 1918 (end of World War I)

Modern times: 1918 - today

There are also alternative periodizations of world history. For example, in Western historiography, the end of the Middle Ages is associated with the 16th century, after which a single period of modern history begins.

History is a science about the past of human society and its present, about the patterns of development of social life in specific forms, in spatio-temporal dimensions. The content of history in general is the historical process, which is revealed in phenomena human life information about which is preserved in historical monuments and sources. Functions of historical knowledge

History performs several socially significant functions. First- cognitive, consisting in the very study of the historical path of countries, peoples

Second function - practical-political. Its essence lies in the fact that history as a science, by revealing the patterns of development of society on the basis of theoretical understanding of historical facts, helps to develop a scientifically based political course and avoid subjective decisions. In the unity of the past, present and future are the roots of people's interest in their history. Third function - ideological .. Worldview - a view of the world, society, the laws of its development - can be scientific if it is based on objective reality. History has a huge educational impact. This is the fourth function of history.

Knowledge of the history of one's people and world history forms civic qualities - patriotism and internationalism; shows the role of the people and individuals in the development of society; allows you to know the moral and ethical values ​​of mankind in their development, to understand such categories as honor, duty to society, to see the vices of society and people, their impact on human destinies.

The study of history teaches one to think in historical categories, to see society in development, to evaluate the phenomena of social life in relation to their past and to correlate with the subsequent course of events.

History is not just the sum of knowledge about the past and new retransmissions of this information. The skills of historical thinking and analysis make it possible to see more clearly the origins and originality of world processes, social phenomena, and help to predict options for the development of society, events and processes. Historical knowledge and the historical style of thinking form the humanitarian culture and the civic image of a citizen of the country.

2. Sources for the study of Russian history.

History as a science draws its material from sources.

1. Material sources, representing the main material for archaeologists, and not only. In the study of ancient civilizations, when writing either did not exist or was still poorly developed, they are simply irreplaceable. (Tools, weapons, jewelry, household items)

2. Written documents. They serve as the main material in the study of the history of the last centuries, from which numerous archives have been preserved (however, here, too, material finds retain significant auxiliary significance). This type of sources is so diverse and sometimes difficult to analyze that it is advisable to single out several of the most significant groups in it:

a) legislative and other regulations state power and interstate associations and preparatory materials for them. The latter are valuable in that they reflect the struggle of opinions and parties around the bill, and through them - the interests and positions of various social groups;

b) official and private correspondence. This source is valuable in that it reflects the hidden motives of political parties and figures that are not made public. If in official speeches they are, as a rule, ennobled and masked by zeal for the "good of the people" and other lofty thoughts, then in confidential correspondence more often true, much more prosaic motives come out;

c) various working materials of state institutions, political parties, economic enterprises, etc. Taken together, they give a general statistical picture of the state of the economy, its industries, regions, public education, the armed forces and

etc., in short - any field of activity, and allow you to trace the dynamics and directions of its development;

d) diaries and memoirs. This is a purely personal and therefore subjective source (especially since they are written most often by interested persons), but, as a rule, the most important events are concentrated in it;

e) periodicals. From the point of view of reliability, this is the most unreliable source, but it clearly reflects the struggle of opinions and parties, because most newspapers serve as the mouthpieces of those forces whose social order they fulfill;

f) ancient chronicles and chronicles, that is, annual summaries of events that have come down to us from those distant times, which did not leave numerous written documents to the descendants.

3. Ethnographic - information that has survived to the present: life, customs and customs

4. Linguistic - information about the origin of the name of natural and geographical objects)

5. Folklore - monuments of oral folk art

6.Computer-digital - film-photo documents, audio documents.

INTRODUCTION

1. The subject of history.

The sciences are divided into natural and social or humanities, history is one of the humanitarian or social disciplines. The roots of history go back to ancient times. Even then, there was a need to remember events, facts and pass on the lessons of life to the next generation. The birthplace of historical science is considered to be Ancient Greece. One of the first professional historians Herodotus (481 - 425 BC) is called the "Father of History". All science is based on facts, just like historical fact is a fundamental category of historical knowledge. A fact is an event or phenomenon of historical reality.

Definitions:

Story it is the science of the past.

Story This is the activity of a person pursuing his goals.

As a science, history is interested in questions: What happened, when, how and why? It studies events and phenomena in the past.

History as a science is multifaceted. It includes:

study of the development process of the entire human society ( The World History);

study individual regions, countries, continents(history of Europe, history of Asia, history of cities, etc.);

studying various directions of the historical process, life and activities of human society (the history of the economy, art, science and technology, etc.);

Her subject is study of human activities, as well as the relations of human society.

2.History functions.

a) The function of social memory.

The function of social memory largely reflects the purpose of history in society. Its content was formed by Herodotus when he wrote: “Herodotus of Halicarnassus collected and recorded this information, so that the events that happened over time do not fall into oblivion and great and admirable deeds of both Hellenes and barbarians did not remain in obscurity ... "(Herodotus. History. - L .: 1972, p. 12).

Modern science defines the functions of social memory more broadly. The purpose of history is seen in the accumulation and preservation in the memory of mankind, the experience of previous generations, the achievements of world culture, information about the most significant events of the past. History is a mediator between generations. Nowadays, in conditions of rapid changes, interest in the history of our fatherland, the history of the development of mankind is growing immeasurably. It is no coincidence that the outstanding historian of the twentieth century, Fernand Braudel, asks: “Is not the present more than half dominated by the past, stubbornly striving to survive? And does not the past, through its differences and its similarities, represent the key necessary for any serious understanding of the present? (Braudel F. Material civilization, economy and capitalism of the 15th - 18th centuries. In 3 volumes. Vol. 3. Time of the world. - M.: Progress, 1992, p. 11).

Turning to history helps us understand the present, find answers to the pressing questions of the time: who are we, where did we come from, where are we going, in the name of what?

The function of social memory includes not only the accumulation and preservation of the experience of generations. It is called upon to evaluate historical events, facts, phenomena, and personalities. It is very important, at the same time, to observe balance, truthfulness, and maintain scientific objectivity.

b) Scientific and cognitive function.

Scientific and cognitive function is an integral property of any science. The central task of history is to provide the knowledge necessary for society to learn from the lessons of the past. A deep analysis of the main directions of social development acts as a prerequisite for the scientific management of society. “Without knowledge of history,” wrote V.O. Klyuchevsky, “we must recognize ourselves as accidents, not knowing how and why we came into the world, how and why we live in it, how and what we should strive for ...” (Klyuchevsky V O. Letters, Diaries, Aphorisms and Thoughts on History, Moscow: 1968, p. 332).

Comprehension of the past will help to make fewer mistakes in the present and choose the most correct guidelines for the future.

V) predictive function.

Historical research is the basis for social forecasting. Ignoring the historical past can lead to negative consequences. However, predictions often do not come true. For example, the forecast about building communism in the USSR. Forecasting is a complicated matter, since too many factors related to the activities of individual subjects operate in public life. Therefore, any social forecast is of a probabilistic nature. Individual social and economic processes are easier to account for and analyze, and forecasting their development is widely used. This is done mainly by sociologists, psychologists, and economists.

In the Marxist methodology of history, the predictive function of history was singled out as the most important one. At the same time, a significant reservation was made that we are talking about foresight at the level of events of a world-historical scale or about “probabilistic knowledge of stable types”.

As for specific examples of accurate forecasting by means of historical science, virtually no author can give them. From the pages of one work to another, one and the same example about F. Engels' foresight of the First World War passes, 27 years have passed between his appearance and the war.

Cases of successful prediction of certain features of the future are nothing more than probabilistic. Therefore, the historian, based on the need for serious research in the field of social forecasting, cannot but admit that his forecast is different from the prediction of a natural scientist. Historiography is contraindicated to operate with conjectural values. As A. Stern points out, “only what has become real can be explored, and that is exactly how things are with the past. The history of the future is impossible; it would be just a product of the imagination: a fable, a novel.”

Forecasting the future cannot be regarded as an obligatory function of historical science. Foresight is not within the purview of history, even if its research in individual cases contributes to the success of social forecasting.

d) Educational function.

History has a huge educational impact. Already historians of antiquity saw the task in developing high morality and civic qualities in the members of the community. In all subsequent periods, the educational functions of history were given an exceptionally important role. So Plutarch's "Comparative Lives" were called upon to serve as an example and a model for imitation of the best people and for correcting bad morals. (See Plutarch. Comparative biographies. V.3. - M .: Nauka, 1964, p. 194) During the Enlightenment, Diderot and D. Alembert noted in their "encyclopedia" that the purpose of history "is to compare the laws and customs of others countries with their own ... This (comparison) encourages modern nations to compete with each other in the arts, trade, agriculture ... It is impossible to remind again and again of the crimes and misfortunes caused by senseless strife. There is no doubt that the reminder of them prevents their repetition. (History in the encyclopedia. Diderot and D. Alamber. - L .: Nauka, 1978, p. 13). Enlighteners paid special attention to the historical education of a sovereign or other statesman. (see Bolinbrock G.S. - D. Letters on the study and benefits of history. - M .: Nauka, 1978, pp. 13-15)

Events, facts, actions and activities of historical figures have educational significance. Without knowing the past of your people and humanity as a whole, you cannot consider yourself a cultured person. “You may not know, you may not feel attracted to the study of mathematics, Greek or Latin, chemistry, - N.G. Chernyshevsky wrote, - you can not know thousands of sciences and still be an educated person, but only a person who is completely mentally undeveloped can not love history. (Chernyshevsky N.G. Complete works in 15 volumes. Vol. 2, p. 546).

3. Basic principles and methods in historical knowledge.

Historicism is an approach to reality that changes and develops over time.

Objectivity - ensures the receipt of true knowledge (impartiality).

Value - the studied past correlates with generally recognized values.

Basic methods in historical nuk.

a) Historical-genetic method - a method through which historical phenomena are studied in the process of their development, from birth to death or the present state. It gives a "biography" of a historical object (state, nation, etc.).

b) Historical-genetic method aimed at analyzing the dynamics of historical processes. It allows you to identify their cause-and-effect relationships and patterns of historical development.

c) Descriptive (ideographic ) method. The essence of the ideographic method G. Rickert reduced to the description of individual features, unique and exceptional features of historical facts.

d) Historical-comparative method consists in comparing historical objects in space and time and in identifying similarities and differences between them. The historical-comparative method involves the use of various techniques to compare the essence of heterogeneous historical phenomena. The use of comparison in combination with the historical-genetic method makes it possible to explain the similarity of objects by their kinship in origin and to record the mutual influence of various historical phenomena.

e) Socio-psychological method. A whole branch of science called psychohistory. This approach is based on the studies of the Austrian scientist Z. Freud. genre of psychobiography. In 1958, psychologist E. Erickson published the book Young Luther: Psychoanalysis and History. Thanks to K. Jung, the concept appeared collective unconscious, which manifests itself in mass unrest, uprisings, revolutions, etc.

f) Quantitative or statistical method. Used in almost all sciences. Appeared in history in ser. XX century. Associated with the use of the achievements of mathematics and computer science, and primarily the computer (demographic history).

Tema 1

Stone and Bronze Age.

The first practice of a chalavek on the territory of Belarus was about an hour 100 - 40 thousand years ago. Such an inconsistency in the designated terminus of darkness, that the old Belarusian lands were occupied by a ledavik. The Ledavikovy epoch was buried kalya 500 thousand years ago and died only ў 9 thousand years ago. e. Ledavik did not know about hellish months. It is collapsing in the fallow land of the climate change from early in the afternoon and towards the end. The most powerful greens radiate out: biarezinskaya (480 - 390 thousand years ago), day-time (320 - 250 thousand years ago) and paazerskae (105 - 85 thousand years ago). The archaeologists were aware of the pralady (Eastern, scrabbles, rubles) of the most ancient people in the days of Belarus, kalya vesak Kleyavychy and Abidavichy. Kalya 40 - 10 thousand years ago, people of a modern physical type appeared on the territories of Belarus. There is a camping site for vesak Yuravichy (more than 26 thousand years ago) and Berdyzh (more than 23 thousand years ago). The most characteristic pakazchyk developed chalavchay dzeynasts lіchatstsa materials, from which prylady pratsy was worked out. The Age of Stone Age (end of 3 thousand BC), Bronze Age (end of 2 thousand - part 1 thousand BC) and Iron Age (part 1 thousand BC) yes AD - yes VII-VIII centuries AD). At piles of charga, stone age falls on palealite (old stone - and the advent of ledavik), mesalith (sered stone - 9 - 5 thousand da AD) and neoalite (4 - 3 thousand da AD). The main occupations in the era of the palealite were selection, fishing and scorching. Only the mesalite of the territory of Belarus was inhabited by the people. The first pastels were the most important on the banks of the river and the azer. Zhytly were terrestrial and pauzemlyankavy. Adna syam’ya was thumping at the skin vein. The zhykhars of the adnago pastelishcha laid down the abshchyna, which was often the most violent step of the tribe. For an hour, people poked at bows, arrows, shakers and pressed from stone plates. Then the first native life appeared - a dog. At Nealitse, there were a lot of acts of vykarystoўvats slihtavannya stone pralady, pottery, zarazzіlі arable farming and zhivelagadoўlya. The most old names of Azeris, rek and pastels of Belarus are evidence that the first people of today were financial tribes. Alekans 3 thousand da. e. Yanas are vytsisnuty Baltami, from the passage of such times the century of copper and bronze is dying. Medz and oxen, from which bronze is worked out, were not obtained in Belarus. They were imported because of the yarn, there were metal plaids, which were rare. Historical development captures not...

All the humanities are called upon to educate people, to make them more humane. So, the main thing in the ethical teaching of I. Kant is the categorical imperative, that is, the unconditional command to fulfill one's moral duty (“... from the first moment to the last,” R. Rozhdestvensky will say later); Pushkin's Tatyana Dmitrievna Gremina remembered her duty ("... I have been given to another and I will be faithful to him for a century"), and L. N. Tolstoy "repaid" her wife and mother Anna Arkadyevna Karenina, who had forgotten her duty, by throwing her under the wheels of a train.

The educational task of “humanizing humanity” has always been present in History, although the nuances have changed. In ancient times, this was a direct call to follow specific positive examples, for example, the feat of the warriors of Leonidas who fought to the death at Thermopylae:

Wanderer, you came to Sparta, to build up to the people, That, fulfilling your duty, here we perished with bones.

Voltaire saw the moral meaning of his "History of Charles XII" in the cure of sovereigns from the "madness of conquest." Later, the task of History in a broad sense began to be interpreted as the education of historical optimism.

In the work “On our vocation”, G. Ya. Baklanov proves that “the vocation of the writer is to promote humanity”, and V. A. Kaverin in “Illuminated Windows” reasonably convinces us that it is necessary to teach not literature, but literature and equally not as much history as history. One cannot but agree with the history teacher of the 39th Moscow school A. E. Timofeev: “The general goal of school education and upbringing ... is not so much in the transfer of knowledge, but in teaching humanism, in inculcating the humanistic imperative, the humanistic ideal as a life concept” 1 .

Mankind is threatened with dehumanization as a result of the fall of morality, due to the deepening gap-chasm between scientific and technological progress and the state of morality.

I. Ehrenburg in the journal version of his memoirs “People, Years, Life” cites the thought of V. Mayakovsky: you need to put a humanistic muzzle on technology, otherwise it will bite a person (remember: the Nazis were close to creating an atomic bomb, and modern terrorists).

The powerful educational charge inherent in history is obvious, but it is important to determine what and how to educate. What should be educated? Patriotism is love and respect for one's homeland, for great people and ordinary workers who contributed to its prosperity, created material and cultural values ​​and protected it from enemy invasions; universal values ​​- humanism (humanity), tolerance (tolerance) towards peoples and individuals who hold different views. It is necessary to educate on love for progressive phenomena and hatred for the dark manifestations of the past. It is impossible, out of imaginary patriotism, to hush up the negative moments of one's history, like a five-year-old boy picking raisins from a roll (K. M. Simonov's example).

But in order for the historian who tells about the past to really sow the rational, the good, the eternal, he himself must be honest. The need for "moral access" to the study of history should be an axiom (perhaps the most convincing considerations about this we find in the 18th-century educator Mably).

It is no secret that without knowledge of the past, which gives the necessary experience, human society would stop in its development. Over time, such a sphere of knowledge as historical science was formed. Functions, methods and stages of its development will be considered in this article.

The concept of historical science

History or historical science is a sphere of social knowledge, the object of study of which is the past of mankind. As scientists like to say: "History is the social memory of man." This whole complex Sciences, considering history both in a broad sense, for example, universal, and in a narrower one - ancient world, newest Russia, military, and so on.

Despite the fact that historical science, the subject and functions of which is the study of the past, is not at all static, because the base of sources is constantly changing - new ones appear, old ones are criticized. The economic and political situation in the state is changing, which also has a huge impact on historical science (as an example, the assessment of historical events in tsarist Russia and the Soviet government that replaced it are radically different).

How it all began

It is officially believed that historical science originated in the 5th century BC. Everyone remembers from the course school curriculum philosopher Herodotus, who is still considered Thucydides and his work "History of the Peloponnesian War", Xenophon and Polybius. The ancient Greeks preferred to describe the events of which they were contemporaries - the priority was wars, biographies of politicians and politics itself, as well as other peoples and religion.

The works "Annals" and "History" of the Roman historian Publius made a great contribution to the development of historical science. Guided by the motto - "Without anger and predilection" (that is, objectively and with the aim of establishing the truth), he studied the biography of Roman emperors.

Over time, the principles and functions of the historical science of ancient times found their continuation in the works of Byzantine scholars. Chronicles appeared in Europe in the Middle Ages - a description of events over the years, everything that happens is explained by "divine providence", and the history of the church becomes a priority for study. The most famous thinker of this time is St. Augustine the Blessed.

Renaissance and Enlightenment

The era of the Renaissance (Renaissance) brought such innovations to the methods and functions of historical science as source criticism. Scientists in their works had to refer to sources, and the more references and citations, the better. Famous thinkers of this time are Benedict Spinoza, Francis Bacon (the work "New Organon", which was written using the method of induction developed by him - from the particular to the general).

The Age of Enlightenment was a great leap forward for the development of all sciences, including history. New sources are opened, they are systematized, deciphered. For the first time, the idea is put forward that the development of the functions of historical science is influenced by such a factor as the form of government. In addition to the above, he also identified the following factors:

• physical ( geographical position, climate);
• social (religion, population) factors.

The outstanding French thinker Voltaire believed that people should study "the achievements of the human mind and morality", thereby laying the foundations for the study of culture.

Further development

In the 19th century, within the framework of the philosophy of positivism, the functions of historical science consisted in a significant increase in the role of historical sources, source study began to develop as an independent discipline, and the written source as the only reliable one.

The following works deserve special attention:

• Spengler's "The Decline of Europe" (history - cyclical cultures that are born, flourish and then die);
• Arnold Toynbee "Civilization", the scientist singled out five existing civilizations and twenty since their inception, which are also born, grow, decline and die.

The twentieth century is a time when the historical scope of research is expanding geographically, covering more countries and peoples, as well as chronologically - from primitive man to the present. This is the time of the dominance of the formational approach in history, the founders of which were Karl Marx and They believed that the determining factor in the life of society was material conditions, both social aspects and the worldview of people depended on them. Thus, history is a process of changing socio-economic formations.

The twentieth and twenty-first centuries are the times when the main functions of historical science are blurred, the lines between history and others are blurred. social sciences- sociology, psychology. Scientists conduct new research and experiments, develop new directions, for example, counterfactual history (studies alternatives to historical events and processes).

Cognitive and social functions

Other name cognitive function- information. Its essence is to consider and analyze the past of mankind, to understand the essence of the phenomena that took place and the impact they had on the further course of history, that is, the patterns of historical development.

The social function of historical science or the function of social memory is the study of the experience of previous generations, their preservation in the memory of the people. It aims to ensure the promotion of the national self-identification of peoples. Formation historical memory extremely important, the stability of society depends on it, the ability to survive in critical situations. As scientists say: "A people dies when it becomes a population, when it forgets its history."

A classic example of why social memory is extremely important for the people - the rejection of the outcome and results of the First World War in Germany led to the unleashing of the Second World War in just two decades.

Methods of historical science

The subject, principles and functions of historical science include both general methods of cognition - analysis, induction, synthesis, deduction (since almost any science uses them, it is not worth dwelling on them in detail), and special methods inherent only to it. These methods include:

1. Retrospective - in order to identify the true cause of an event, a scientist penetrates into the past with the help of successive actions.
2. Historical-comparative - comparison of historical objects by comparing them in time and space, identifying similarities and differences.
3. Historical and typological - consists in compiling classifications of events and phenomena, identifying common features and differences in the objects under consideration.
4. Historical and genetic - consideration of the phenomenon under study in dynamics, from birth to death, that is, in development.

It should be said separately that the functions of historical science exclude the method of experiment - it is impossible to accurately recreate the phenomena and processes that once occurred.

Principles of Science

Principles in general are ideas, fundamental rules. The main principles of historical science are:

1. Historicism. Any fact, phenomenon or event is considered in the context of the historical situation, in dynamics, in time and space.
2. Objectivity. It assumes, firstly, reliance on genuine facts, taking into account both positive and negative aspects of the phenomenon under consideration. Secondly, the historian must be independent of his desires and preferences, which may distort historical research.
3. Alternative. It assumes the existence of a different path of development, in addition to the one that occurred. Using this principle allows you to see unaccounted for resources and unrealized opportunities, allows you to learn lessons for the future.
4. social approach. It means that social interests play a significant role in the development of certain processes. It is important to be guided by it when evaluating the programs of political parties, in the internal and foreign policy states.

Auxiliary historical disciplines

Speaking about the functions of historical science in modern world it is necessary to touch on those disciplines that go hand in hand with it in their research and are divided into special and auxiliary. The main ones are the following sciences:

1. Historiography. In a broad sense, it is an auxiliary (special) historical discipline that studies the history of historical science. In a narrower sense, these are studies carried out by historians in a certain area of ​​historical science or a set of scientific works.
2. Source study. This is an auxiliary historical discipline that comprehensively studies historical sources, uses the analysis of phenomena and events. Source science is theoretical, deals with determining the origin of sources and their reliability, as well as applied (concrete) - studies individual branches and periods of history.

Special historical sciences

There are several special historical disciplines that help historical science to most fully reveal and study the event or phenomenon in question. These are numismatics (studies coins), heraldry (coats of arms), paleography (writing). But the most significant of them are archeology and ethnography:

1. The term "archaeology" is derived from the ancient Greek words "archeo" - ancient and "logos" - science. This is a discipline that studies the history of mankind on material monuments (buildings, structures, weapons, tools, household items). The role of this discipline especially increases in the study of those periods of history when there was no written language, or those peoples who did not have a written language at all.
2. The term "ethnography" is also ancient Greek, "ethnos" - people, "grapho" - I write. From this one can understand the essence of this historical discipline- it studies the origin of peoples (ethnic groups), their composition, resettlement and resettlement, as well as culture and way of life.

historical sources

Historical source - any thing, a document that contains information about the past and can be used to study historical processes. There are several classifications of these documents, dividing them into groups (according to the purpose of creation, according to the degree of proximity to historical fact).

The most common is the division of sources into:

• Material - buildings, structures, clothing, weapons, tools and household items - in a word, everything that is created by human hands.
• Ethnographic - customs, traditions, all kinds of rituals, beliefs.
• Linguistic - speech, dialect inherent in a person, people.
• Oral (folklore) - songs, fairy tales, legends.
• Written - all kinds of manuscripts, archival documents, letters, regulations, memoirs. They may be originals or copies.

Science, history

The functions of historical knowledge that predetermine the human concept of historical events, are:

• intellectual-developing, cognitive - knowledge of historical processes as a social sector scientific knowledge and theoretical generalization of the facts of history;
• practical-political - helps in the development of a scientifically based political course by identifying patterns in the development of society and options for managing the masses;
• ideological - influences the formation of scientific worldviews by providing accurate, documented, data on the events of the past;
• educational - knowledge of historical facts has an impact on the formation of a civic position.

The subject and functions of historical science is the study of the development of human society in time and space, that is, the historical process. Without this knowledge, society would not be able to develop and move forward.