Theories of History

History is the study of the human past; the events that happened in the past have had a big impact in shaping the future. It is an important study because it helps us to see more clearly the events that have molded the world and its people. By viewing and studying different events and conflicts from the past, we can learn from them and build on them. Historians study the past and by seeing mistakes that were made by former civilizations, leaders, and nations, they can help prevent the same things from happening again. They can also see past actions and events that have had positive impacts on societies and they can use this to help to build a better future for the world’s people. If we did not study history, many mistakes from the past would be repeated again and we would not learn from them.

There are four main theories of history, and each one presents a different approach to viewing history and understanding what it really is. These include linear history, cyclic history, vortextual history, and the Hegelian theory of history. Linear history is just a chronological order of events, while cyclic history theorizes that forces for human actions always come and go in a cycle. The behavior of vortextual history is similar to cyclic history because its theory is that events in history constantly go through a cycle of large-scale and small-scale. The final theory of history and the one that I believe to be true is the Hegelian theory. This theory says that thesis plus antithesis is equal to synthesis. In other words, every event that occurs impacts the events that come next. The thesis is the first event, and it proposes a new idea, and the antithesis is the reaction to the thesis. The synthesis is the conclusion of the conflict and it proposes another new idea. This process is what Hegel calls a “dialect.” If one single event history had happened differently, everything that has happened subsequently would also be different. I believe that this theory is the most prevalent because of the idea of cause and effect; every action affects the next, and every event that occurs is based on the previous.

The Hegelian theory of History is more valuable than the other theories, but it does not completely disagree with all of the others, and they support some of its ideas. Linear history does not disagree with Hegel’s idea because he theorized that each event or problem is affected by the previous, but the events still have to occur in a chronological order. Therefore, linear history can actually support Hegel’s theory of history. Though linear history does not agree with all of theories and is not the most valuable theory, it does not disagree with and can actually support the Hegelian philosophy of history.

The idea of cyclic history is basically the opposite of linear history, but it can also relate to Hegel’s ideas. This theory says that human history comes and goes in a continuous cycle that did not have a definite birth or death, and neither happened before the other. In a similar way, Hegel’s thesis, antithesis, and synthesis continues in a cycle. The thesis presents the event, followed by the antithesis, and the synthesis poses a new idea and starts this cycle over again. The idea of cyclic history may be different than the Hegelian theory, but the two theories do share some similar ideas in the sense that events occurs in a cycle.

The theory of vortextual history portrays history as a gyre or a funnel, but it also shows history as having cyclical behavior. The idea is that history is like a gyre because the events in a cycle from very large-scale to small-scale, and then back to large and so on. This theory can tie together with the Hegel philosophy because of the chain of cause and effect. Each large or small event is caused by the event before it; small events are affected by large events, and large events can be influenced by smaller events. This pattern continues in a cycle, so it is similar to cyclic history. For this reason, the vortex theory of history is not in disagreement with Hegel’s philosophy.

For these reasons, I believe the Hegelian theory of history is the most valuable. Some of the other theories clash completely, like cyclic and linear history. However, Hegel’s theory shares a similar idea and does not fully disagree with the other theories and therefore is the best theory for understanding history.

Hegel history is the best theory compared to the others, but what exactly does this theory say? The Hegel philosophy of history was established by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. He provided his own new ideas that helped people to understand how history works. His main idea was the theory of action and reaction, thesis and antithesis. He greatly stressed the importance of the reaction, or the antithesis. If an event occurred and there was no reaction, there would be no purpose to go on. The antithesis is what keeps the events going. Without the antithesis, there would be no synthesis and no new thesis. Without any opposition to the event or action, there is no problem or conflict to work out, and there only empty existence. The sequence of a thesis, antithesis, and synthesis is what Hegel called a dialect. For example, if a new law is passed (thesis), there will be people who break it (antithesis). This is the thesis and the antithesis. The outcome, or synthesis, would be that those people will be punished, and this starts the action and reaction process again. This philosophy provides a great understanding of how history works, and Hegel’s ideas make a lot of sense.

History is a very important study that helps us learn from the past and shape the future. The four theories all provide different views to understanding history: linear, cyclic, vortextual, and Hegelian. The far superior one is Hegel’s philosophy of history. His does not disprove or greatly contradict any of the other theories. His ideas are very logical because he theorizes that an event plus the opposition to the event result in the outcome of the problem that poses a new event.