History as Self-Knowledge : Towards Understanding the Existential and Ethical Dimension of the Historical Past

Jonas Ahlskog

doi:10.15848/hh.v12i31.1501

Authors

Jonas Ahlskog Department of Philosophy Åbo Akademi University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3311-654X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15848/hh.v12i31.1501

Keywords:

History, Historical understanding, Historiography

Abstract

This essay explores the existential and ethical dimension of the historical past from two different perspectives. In the first part, the essay approaches the issue by examining the personal dimension of the historical past from the perspective of the individual subject. This examination elaborates the individual’s perspective by literary illustrations from W. G. Sebald’s Austerlitz. In the second part, the essay approaches the issue from a conceptual perspective in order to articulate the ways in which the idea of a historical past connects with the concept of history as self-knowledge. The essay engages with R. G. Collingwood’s philosophy of history to show that there are significant ethical and existential aspects of the concept of historical past. In conclusion, the essay argues that, from both the perspective of the individual and conceptually, there is an important personal dimension residing within and not only beyond the historical past.

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Author Biography

Jonas Ahlskog, Department of Philosophy Åbo Akademi University

Ahlskog holds a PhD in philosophy from Åbo Akademi University (ÅAU) and defended his thesis in October 2017. His philosophical research is focused on questions concerning the human sciences, history, testimony and cultural theory. In the history of ideas, Ahlskog is primarily doing research about conceptions of nation, class, language and identity in political and ideological movements during the 20th century in Finland. His research in the history of ideas is part of an interdisciplinary research project about class, language and national identity funded by the Kone Foundation.

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