Presentism (literary and historical analysis) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Presentism is a mode of historical analysis in which present-day ideas and perspectives are anachronistically introduced into depictions or interpretations of the past. Some modern historians seek to avoid presentism in their work because they believe it creates a distorted understanding of their subject matter. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the first citation for presentism in its historiographical sense from 1916, and the word may have been in use in this meaning as early as the 1870s. Historian David Hackett Fischer identifies presentism as a logical fallacy also known as the "fallacy of nunc pro tunc". He has written that the "classic example" of presentism was the so-called "Whig history", in which certain eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British historians wrote history in a way that used the past to validate their own political beliefs. This interpretation was presentist because it did not depict the past in objective historical context, but instead viewed history only through the lens of contemporary Whig beliefs. In this kind of approach, which emphasizes the relevance of history to the present, things which do not seem relevant receive little attention, resulting in a misleading portrayal of the past. "Whig history" or "whiggishness" are often used as synonyms for presentism, particularly when the historical depiction in question is teleological or triumphalist. Have any of you teachers thought about going back to colleges and universities and getting some more degrees in education? John Philip Adams Texas -----Original Message----- From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Anne Pemberton Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2008 7:41 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: History as TRUTH James, Not sure if it is mentioned in 1491, but in the earlier book, "The Invasion of America" by Francis Jennings, it is mentioned that archeologists have found evidence that the Chinese visited the west coast of South and perhaps Central America. There are suggestions that they ventured as far north as San Francisco. Columbus was a map-maker who wanted to get very rich by discovering the shortest route to the Spice Islands for whatever country would finance his adventure. Bear in mind that those who were going west to fish the various banks of North America were taking on the same perils in just as small, or smaller, or craft than Columbus did. It's a matter of whether one is a seafaring man or not. If Columbus was such a "worthy man of his times" why was his governorship of an island withdrawn for unsavory practices with the Natives? It not a matter of presentism, its a matter of debunking childhood myths. Anne Anne Pemberton [log in to unmask] http://www.erols.com/apembert http://www.educationalsynthesis.org ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html