Historicism

Introduction and Origin:

The term "historicism" (Historismus) was coined by German philosopher Karl Wilhelm Friedrich (1772 -
1829). Historicism was one of the most important intellectual movements of the nineteenth century.

Otto Jespersen in 1922 held that "the distinctive feature of the science of language is its historical
character". Herman Paul Stated: "as soon as one goes beyond the mere statement of individual facts, as
soon as one tried to rasp their interconnection, to understand a phenomenon, one enters upon the
domain of history, albeit perhaps unconsciously."

Historicism or What is Historicism?

Historicism is the idea of attributing significance to elements of space and time, such as historical period,
geographical place, and local culture, in order to contextualize theories, narratives and other
interpretative instruments.

A theory, a doctrine, or style that emphasizes the importance of history: such as

a: a theory in which history is seen as a standard of value or as a determinant of events.

b: a style (as in architecture) characterized by the use of traditional forms and elements.

History is a container. Everything happens in history. History s itself an aim, because phenomenon
happens within the framework of history. Historicism therefore tends to be hermeneutical, because its
places great importance on cautious, rigorous and contextualized interpretation of information.
Historicism is relativistic because it rejects notions of universal, fundamental and immutable
interpretations.

The historicist approach differs from individualist theories of knowledge such as empiricism and
rationalism, which neglect the role of traditions. Historicism may be contrasted with reductionist
theories-- which assumes that all developments can be explained by fundamental principles (such as in
economic determinism)--- or with theories that posit