Methods of historical research. Methods of learning history When the chronological method is used in the study of history

Definition 1

The problem-chronological method is a method of historical knowledge used in the study of one side of the state, society, personality in its consistent development. This method allows you to fully trace the logical development of the problem and most effectively extract practical experience.

The aim of the historian is to comprehend the meaning of history. And it cannot be comprehended simply by establishing and reconstructing the facts. The task of scientific research work of the historian consists in organizing facts into a definite explanatory system. Historical facts do not exist on their own, they must indicate phenomena, trends, processes, or illustrate them with examples.

Historical facts cannot exist separately from each other. Interacting, they add up to phenomena. Highlighting the phenomena, the researcher concretizes the subject of historical research, systematizes the facts and tries to achieve the most profound understanding of the history of the process and the driving forces of the historical process.

For example, for a long time there have been regular armed conflicts between the two neighboring countries. They add up to one phenomenon - a war between countries. War is a political, economic, cultural, military-technical problem for the history of relations between the two countries, and for their internal history. Considering the war as a historical problem, the historian systematizes the material available to him: he defines territorial boundaries and chronological framework wars, causes, reason for it, stages, main battles, results and consequences, meaning. Many wars, especially those of the ancient world and the Middle Ages, were constructed by historians and were actually perceived differently by contemporaries.

One of the most widely used methods of historical research is the chronological method. It lies in the fact that all facts, phenomena, events or processes of political, economic, social, cultural or legal history are set out in a strict chronological order. Now in its pure form, this method is used less frequently, mainly when compiling historical chronology, when reconstructing a chain of events that are interconnected in most cases. The problem-chronological method is a more widely applicable variety of the chronological method. It involves the division of a broad topic into a number of relatively narrow problems of historical development, each of which is considered in a strict chronological sequence of the facts relating to it. Among the undoubted advantages of this method is the observance of historical continuity in the description of various historical institutions, since nothing in history grows out of nowhere. Any phenomena grow out of the previous ones, and as they develop, they are transformed into future forms. The use of the chronological, as well as the problem-chronological method, makes it possible to present a single historical perspective. Also, the problem-chronological method allows us to consider qualitative changes in the development of the phenomenon under study.

Application

An example is the Hundred Years War between England and France. It falls into a series of conflicts: the Edwardian War (1337-1360), the Carolingian War (1369-1396), the Lancastrian War (1415-1428) and the final stage of the war until 1453, with no formal agreement to end the war was formalized. In addition, a number of other local conflicts fall into this chronological period. Thus, the Hundred Years' War is only the traditional name for a long military-political conflict between the kingdoms of England and France in the XIV-XV centuries. As an integral phenomenon, this war was invented by historians of the 19th century, who introduced the expression into circulation and determined the chronological framework, for 16 years more centuries. But the Europeans who lived between 1337 and 1453 did not even suspect that they were living in the era of the Hundred Years War.

The historian may study the following types of historical problems:

• proper research problems. As part of their study, it is necessary to characterize the sources, date them, determine the degree of representativeness, the degree of data verification, justify the choice of research method, etc.;
• global historical problems, among which three large blocks can be distinguished:
• determination of the causes of historical events, phenomena, trends and processes;
• establishing their essence, characteristics;
• revealing the results and consequences of events, that is, their place in history.

By direction, historical problems can be divided as follows:

• social;
• economic;
• political;
• historical and demographic;
• military;
• cultural;
• religious;
• historical-anthropological and many other problems.

It is also possible to study the problems of specific historical plots. The study of any historical plot can be done with two main goals:

• reconstruction of the series of events, facts related to this plot;
• determination of the causes and consequences of the development of a given historical plot, its true meaning, place in history, characteristics.

Remark 1

To achieve the second goal, it is necessary to apply a specific problem method.

Disadvantages of the problem-chronological method

Despite the widespread use of the problem-chronological method in scientific research, it is not without some drawbacks. These include:

• the problem-chronological approach can be characterized not by the method of independent productive historical research of the past, but only by one of the methods of systematic presentation of the material, replacing the search for new knowledge with a description of known facts;
• when considering the narrow problems of historical development, which is characteristic of the problem-chronological method, the historian-researcher may not take into account the historical context, which will negatively affect the observance of the principles of historicism and objectivity.

Lecture No. 1. The subject and methods of the science of history.

The subject of historical science.

History Methods.

1. History (from the Greek. Historia - a story about the past, about what has been learned), is considered in 2 meanings:

1) as a process of development of nature and humanity;

2) as systems of sciences that study the past of nature and society.

The most important task of history is the generalization and processing of accumulated human experience. Historia est magistra vitae, said the ancients. Indeed, people are always trying to find answers to many questions. On the historical examples they are brought up in respect for eternal human values: peace, goodness, beauty, justice, freedom.

History is considered as a single process of evolution of nature and society.

“Respect for the past is the feature that distinguishes education from savagery,” said A.S. Pushkin.

The great Russian historian V.O. Klyuchevsky wrote: “Without knowledge of history, 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, mechanical puppets that they are not born, but are made, they do not die according to the laws of nature, life, but break according to someone's childhood whim ”(Klyuchevsky V.O. Letters. Diaries, Aphorisms and thoughts on history. - M., 1968, p. 332.) .

Ideas about the world in antiquity and now differ significantly: the world has changed, and man has changed. History is an evolving array of social experience, passed down from generation to generation, which is rethought each time.

Interest in the past has existed since the beginning of the human race. Man himself is a historical being. It changes, develops over time, is the product of this development.

The original meaning of the word "history" goes back to the ancient Greek term meaning "investigation", "recognition", "establishment". History was identified with the establishment of authenticity, the truth of events and facts.

In Roman historiography (historiography is a branch of historical science that studies its history), this word began to denote a story about the events of the past. Soon “history began to be called in general any story about any case, incident, real or fictitious

Currently, we use the word "history" in 2 senses:

1) to indicate a story about the past;

2) when it comes to a single science that studies the past.

The subject of history defined ambiguously. Its subject may be social, political, economic history, the history of the city, village, family, private life. The definition of the subject of history is subjective, connected with the ideology of the state and the outlook of the historian. Historians who take materialistic positions believe that history as a science studies the patterns of development of society, which depend on the method of production of material goods. This approach prioritizes economics over people in explaining causality. Historians who adhere to liberal views are convinced that the subject of study of history is a person (personality). The famous French historian Mark Blok defines history as "the science of people in time". Historians use scientific categories in their research: historical movement (historical time, space), historical fact, the theory of the historical process (methodological interpretation).

Historical movement includes interrelated scientific categories: historical time and historical space. Historical time only moves forward. Outside the concept of historical time, history does not exist. Events following one after another form a time series. There are internal connections between events in time and space.

concept historical time changed repeatedly. This was reflected in the periodization of the historical process.

Almost until the end of the 18th century, historians distinguished between eras of savagery, barbarism, and civilization. Later, two approaches to the periodization of history took shape: formational (materialist historians of the 19th century) and civilizational (historical-liberal periodization of the early 21st century).

Under historical space understand the totality of natural-geographical, economic, political, socio-cultural processes occurring in a certain territory.

historical fact- these are real events of the past, what is considered a generally accepted truth (Egyptian pyramids, Macedonian wars, the Baptism of Russia, etc.), we receive specific historical data from historical sources.

Under historical sources refers to all the remnants of the past, in which historical evidence has been deposited, reflecting the real activity of man. All sources can be divided into groups: written, material, ethnographic, folklore, linguistic, film documents (phonic), architectural monuments, household items of the past, written documents, paintings, engravings, diagrams, drawings, sound recordings and much more.

Methods of knowledge of history.

The historical method is the way, the mode of action by which the researcher acquires new historical knowledge. Basic historical methods:

Historical and genetic;

Historical and comparative;

Historical and typological;

Historical and systemic.

General scientific methods are also applicable in history: analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, description, measurement, explanation, etc.

The essence of the historical genetic method is reduced to a consistent disclosure of the properties and functions of the object under study in the process of its change. Cognition proceeds from the individual to the particular and further to the general and universal.

Historical comparative method is to compare events that took place at different times, but in many respects similar. Comparing them, scientists can explain the content of the facts and phenomena under consideration. The method allows to reveal the essence of the studied events by their similarity and difference, to compare them in time and space.

Historical-typological method(typology). Studying the history of the Second World War, one can raise the question of the balance of forces between Hitler and anti-Hitler coalition. The opposing sides can be conditionally divided into two groups. The sides of each of the groups will differ only in relation to the allies and enemies of Germany (in other respects they may differ - in the anti-Hitler coalition there will be socialist countries and capitalist ones.

Historical-system method helps to study the unity of events, phenomena in socio-historical development. For example, the history of Russia is considered not as an independent process, but as a result of interaction with other states, an element in the development of the history of the entire civilization.

Common Methods for all the humanities are historical and logical.

historical method- this is a consideration of the process in a complex development: how it arose, what it was like at the beginning, what path it took.

With the logical method the studied phenomena are considered from the point of view of proof and refutation.

In historical science, in addition, the following methods are used:

Chronological method - presentation of phenomena in a strictly sequential, temporal order.

Chronological-problematic- the study of history by periods, topics or eras, inside - by problems.

Problem-chronological- one side of the activity of a person or society in its consistent development is studied.

Synchronistic - establishes relationships between processes and phenomena occurring at the same time in different regions.

There are also comparative-historical, retrospective, system-structural, statistical methods, mathematical analysis and sociological research.

Functions of historical science:

Cognitive - to know the essence of the historical process, its patterns, in order to avoid the mistakes of the past;

Evaluative - to assimilate universal human values, to understand the fallacy of a one-dimensional approach to the analysis of historical phenomena;

Practical - application of the most effective ways solutions to social problems known in the history of various countries.

History is a short term for describing events that happened in the past at different times and places. It is also a science that studies the sources of the past in order to learn about events, their sequence, causes, and to form an objective picture of the process that took place. Methods and sources for studying history include chronicles, archaeological finds, the study of official documents, the use of logic, and modeling.

What and how does history study?

In modern literature, you can count up to 30 various definitions the subject of history. Such a large number is provoked by the fact that this science is studied and developed by people with different views on the world, different experiences and life positions. The same variety of views reigns among scientists regarding the explanation

But if different objects and processes can act as a subject, then the methods remain the same. Both the subject and deal with objective phenomena, for which you can use proven standard approaches. The whole variety of methods can be divided into three categories: general scientific, historical, developed specifically for working with the sources and concepts of this science, and special (created by scientists from other areas and borrowed by historians).

Various approaches and methods of study

Two can be attributed to - logical and historical. These two approaches to the study of phenomena complement and enrich each other, logic allows you to generalize what has been studied and draw conclusions where the historical approach is powerless.

To study the events and processes that took place, scientists use the following methods:

• chronological - all events are arranged strictly in chronological order;
• synchronous - various events and their interconnection are considered in different parts of the country and the globe at the same time.

Within the chronological method, there are also different approaches. The chronological-problem approach explores what happened by epochs, within epochs - by problems. Problem-chronological - on the contrary: some one problem or side of life is taken, the development and change of which is studied in the context of passing time.

In addition to those mentioned, there are also comparative-historical, system-structural, statistical and retrospective methods, as well as the method of periodization and sociological research.

Data sources - the basis of historical science

Methods and sources of studying history are interconnected. Facts are everything. The study of the sources of facts is carried out by a separate auxiliary discipline - source study. It is possible to single out primary and secondary sources for the study of history, classify them according to the method of transmitting information and the nature of the medium:

• written clay tablets, papyri and books);
• material (tools, utensils, furniture, clothing, weapons, architectural structures);
• ethnographic sources;
• folklore (fairy tales, songs, legends, traditions, ballads);
• linguistic;
• film and photo documents.

Each source requires careful analysis and a thoughtful approach, an assessment of its reliability.

controversial points

However, history is not only the science of facts, it is also the interpretation of facts. Therefore, the methods and sources of studying history seriously affect the results of research, the conclusions about the events and their causes.

There are many historical documents reporting facts that different scholars interpret differently. There are also different opinions about the origin and purpose: one of them is that the wall was built by China's northern neighbors to protect the North. At the same time, a common theory of its appearance says that the Chinese themselves built this wall.

The historical events described in the textbooks are only one, the "official" version of history. Many historical facts allow at least two, or even more, interpretations of causal relationships. Different interpretations appear not only because of the inconsistency of sources, but also the methods and sources of studying history, the subtleties of the translation of ancient texts, and the peculiarities of the worldview of research scientists play a role here.

Fact Study Principles

Considering all this, the principles of studying are important for the historian. historical facts. The principle is the tool that allows you to "stand with both feet on the ground" when studying the past. The principles and methods of studying history are similar in that there are several of the first and second:

• the principle of historicism. Requires that all events and known facts be considered only through the prism of the time to which they relate. It is impossible to study phenomena separately, by themselves, since they appeared from the interaction of many factors, and make sense only in context.
• The principle of objectivity. It requires studying and taking into account all known facts, without excluding or discarding anything, without trying to fit the known under the “necessary” scheme or theory.
• The principle of social approach, or the principle of party membership.
• The principle of alternative.

Compliance with all the principles does not guarantee reliable conclusions; moreover, another researcher with the same data set and also following the principles of the study may get a completely different result.

In addition to methodological principles, historical knowledge also applies specific methods of historical research. This section is also more for Researchers than for Students.

The most favorite among the Students (which they do not suspect) is chronological method, the essence of which is that events are studied and presented strictly in chronological order. Give them the opportunity - the WRC will turn into a simple enumeration of events. It's good that leaders try to prevent this from happening. However, this method is effective when applied to biographies and chronicles of events.

Usually in WRC it is applied problem-chronological method, expressed in the study of any part of the object / subject in its consistent development. Let's take for example the research topic already mentioned above - "The role of the Russian fleet in the Northern War." The first problem is the war itself. We will consider it in a separate chapter from beginning to end. The second problem is the fleet. Let's single out the internal structural elements (construction, organization, personnel training, tactics, etc.) and consider each of them again in chronological development. As a rule, the chapters and paragraphs of the WRC are formed in this way.

When reviewing the WRC, I rarely came across studies in which it would be applied (I don’t say anymore - it was indicated) chronological-problematic a method that provides for research by periods or epochs, and within them already by problems. Usually, fundamental summarizing works and lecture courses are built on this principle.

Even less often in WRC it is used synchronous a method that allows you to establish connections and relationships between phenomena and processes occurring at the same time in different countries or different regions of the country.

Other methods used in historical research include:

Historical-systemic(as an option with system-structural) method. It involves the construction of a generalized model that displays the relationship of the process under study. Consideration of objects as systems consisting of many interacting elements requires the disclosure of the integrity of the object, the study of the structure of elements, the identification of diverse types of their internal and external connections, the identification of backbone elements and their reduction into a single system.

historical periodization. It is based on the fact that any historical phenomenon goes through various stages of development, separated from each other by qualitative boundaries. The main thing is to establish clear criteria and apply them consistently in the study.

Statistical(or, according to various authors, quantitative, mathematical). It is used in the study of the quantitative aspects of the historical process. It is a quantitative analysis of many homogeneous facts, when each of them individually is not of great importance, but in the aggregate they determine the transition of quantitative changes into qualitative ones. Working with numerical indicators allows you to identify the extent, prevalence, pace of development and other aspects of the process.

Comparative historical(or historical comparative, or comparative, depending on the tastes of the writing methodologists) method. It consists in a comparative study of comparable aspects of the object under study and similar objects located in other spatial (territorial), temporal (chronological) or social (national, confessional, etc.) frameworks. At the same time, their common features, differences and features of development are revealed. As a result, it is possible to identify the causes of these features.

Historical and typological method. Assumes the classification of various historical events on the basis of their common essential features. In fact, it is a variant of the comparative historical method.

Method sociological research. It is used in the study of modernity. One of my graduate students used it when working on the topic “The Monarchist Idea in modern Russia when it came to the attitude of young people to monarchism. The result was interesting, and the interpretation was convincing. This method is effective in studying mostly recent political history. Among the techniques of this method are questionnaires, surveys, interviews, etc.

Not to mention a number speculative methods which, with a sufficient amount of factual material and sufficient professionalism of the researcher, can be quite effective and justified.

Method analogies. In fact, it is a particular manifestation of the same comparative historical method. Allows you to draw conclusions about the similarity of several phenomena in any one specific relationship on the basis of their similarity in other respects and to identify the unknown in one object on the basis of the known in another. This method is based on the recognition of the known recurrence of historical events in world history. Analogy is used in cases where information about the phenomena being studied is inaccurate or fragmentary.

Method flashbacks. Based on the fact that the past and present of the object of study are closely related. This makes it possible to recreate a picture of the past even in the absence of all sources relating to the time under study. With the help of this method, when studying the past, one can go from phenomena and facts well known from surviving sources to those that preceded them, but remained unknown due to the scarcity of ancient monuments.

Method extrapolation. It provides for the dissemination of the conclusions obtained during the study of the completed stage of the development of the object to the present or upcoming stages. This contributes to understanding the events of the present time and forecasting the historical process.

When using this method for futurological conclusions, serious errors are possible. Thus, the conclusion of K. Marx about the inevitability of the death of small peasant farms in competition with capitalist latifundia was fully justified for the 19th century, when such latifundia were, in fact, agricultural manufactories, always winning in competition with small producers. This conclusion of Marx gave rise to the confidence of Soviet leaders in the preference for large farms and substantiated the desire for gigantomania - the creation of state farms and collective farms - giants. But mechanization and electrification Agriculture led to the fact that the farmer began to manage thousands of horsepower, which may well be an analogy for at least hundreds of workers, and turned into a kind of "lartifundist" of their "exploiting". At the same time, the overhead costs of a small entrepreneur are always lower than those of a large one. Therefore, individual farming not only survived, but also remained the main supplier of food in the world. And the collective-farm-state-farm system could not solve the food problem in the USSR. Many more examples of such erroneous extrapolations could be cited. One conclusion about the construction of the material and technical base of communism in the USSR by the beginning of the 1980s, based on the extrapolation of the pace of development of the Soviet economy in the late 1950s for twenty years ahead, which is worth it.

So historians should use the method of extrapolation with great care. Let political scientists, sociologists and others like them use it.

Method scientific abstraction. With its help, the historian, as it were, draws in his mind some events that are poorly covered in the sources that have come down to us. It represents a certain hypothesis, which can later be accepted or refuted by facts or an even more convincing hypothesis. The whole "alternative" history is built on this method.

In the domestic scientific literature, an example of the application of this method is given - the interpretation of V.B. Kobrin of the brief news of the Ipatiev Chronicle about the reception in Moscow in April 1147 by Prince Yuri Vladimirovich (Dolgoruky) of his ally, the Chernigov-Seversky Prince Svyatoslav Olgovich. In honor of the guest, a “strong dinner” was arranged. Since mid-April is still a rather cold season, it can be assumed that the dinner was held not in collapsible fabric tents, but in wooden chambers, spacious enough to accommodate the hosts, guests and their squads. It can also be assumed that food supplies were sufficient for the event. From this we can conclude that Moscow in the year of its first chronicle mention was already a fairly large settlement for its time, with an established princely economy, where there was the necessary amount of living creatures, there were pantries with supplies, etc.

TO unconventional special historical methods include:

socio-psychological methods;

linguistic methods;

methods semiotics;

method art analysis.

To disclose their content for lack of time, and uselessness, I will not, if someone is impatient - delve into the Internet.

Sections with methodology And methods, if they do exist, usually take from one (with a simple listing of principles and methods) to several (when they are disclosed) paragraphs from a quarter to a half-page (for WRC). Sections are placed after the characteristics of the sources.

The allocation in the process of research of certain stages in the development of a person, society or individual phenomena and processes that make up it - this is periodization.

Periodization is one of the most important special methods of historical research. It allows you to identify changes in the qualitative features of the historical process in time, to establish with the possible degree of accuracy the moments of these changes, to reveal the form and class content of historical phenomena in each historical period, trace the action of certain historical patterns. The use of the periodization method, based on the Marxist-Leninist principles of historicism and partisanship, makes it possible to study historical processes and phenomena in all their specific and unique originality, taking into account their change and development, as well as the historical trends that manifest themselves in them, general and specific patterns.

If the synchronous method makes it possible to study a horizontal section of society in its instantaneous (synchronous), but in connection with this static state, if the chronological method reveals the temporal sequence of a chain of historical events that follow one after another, but not always logically and even more so causally related , then the periodization method, which requires a comparison of the state of society or the processes and phenomena occurring in it at the beginning and at the end of the period (stage), opens up the possibility of establishing the main direction of social development, its inherent features and trends, the degree and form of their manifestation, and discovering the moments of the emergence of new phenomena and processes, etc.

Let us move on to the second group of special-historical research methods directly related to the logical general scientific method. With the help of the system of methods of the group, certain logical operations are carried out with historical facts.

Method of historical parallels (comparative-historical)

The method of historical parallels (comparative historical) is based on the establishment of similarities or differences between the phenomena under study, it plays an important role in inferences by analogy. This method consists, first of all, in comparison, comparison of the studied and, therefore, still unknown phenomenon with the already studied, known, in order to understand the essence of the first of them.

This method has long been used by historians. IN late XIX- the beginning of the XX century. consider this method as the only scientific one.

In terms of logic scientific research It is necessary to note two points that characterize the comparative historical study of phenomena. Firstly, the especially cognitive role of such a study is due to the fact that it involves the consideration of phenomena in development and the disclosure of their diverse aspects, properties in the process of this development. As a result of studying a number of stages, steps in phenomena, it becomes possible to find out such historical development phenomena when they develop their content to the greatest extent (for example, bourgeois relations at various stages and in various countries). Secondly, the strength of the comparative-historical method lies in the breadth of coverage of the phenomena under study. In view of the fact that in this case a parallel study of at least two "series" of phenomena, processes is assumed, the researcher has the opportunity to trace the nature of the connection of individual phenomena against the background of others similar to them. Consequently, the interpretation of phenomena as isolated, absolutely single, "unique aspects" of reality is excluded.

Comparison of the studied phenomena in the process of development enriches knowledge in depth (for example, revealing patterns in phenomena, revealing their new qualitative aspects) and in breadth (for example, expanding the actual basis of knowledge). This means that the comparative historical method, along with others, serves the task of quantitatively and qualitatively deepening knowledge, solving it with a specific feature, a specific load.

This specificity is reflected in the cognitive functions of the method under consideration. These include: a) the selection of signs in phenomena of a different order, their comparison, comparison; b) clarification of the historical sequence, the genetic connection of phenomena, the establishment of their genus-species relationships and relationships in the process of development, the establishment of differences in phenomena; c) generalization, construction of a typology of social processes and phenomena.

For a more complete understanding of the essence and function of the method under consideration, it seems appropriate to distinguish between the logical and structural-typological aspects in its application. The logical aspect means the selection and consistent comparative study of similar but not identical aspects in phenomena, in this case, of course, the simultaneous and consistent use of not only comparison, but also other logical techniques (analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, hypothesis and etc.).

The logical aspect only approximately covers one and not the most important principle of the comparative historical method. Using comparison as a logical device, one can find out certain connections of social phenomena, mostly external ones. However, this is clearly not enough to understand their essence. To reveal the general and specific content of the phenomena under study, it is necessary to establish their structural and typological relationships, and then, on this basis, determine the uniformity of the compared phenomena. In general, the structural-typological aspect can be characterized as systematization, generalization of the study, which is associated not only with the establishment of scientifically reliable facts, but also with the identification of significant trends and features in the compared objects.

Of course, these aspects in the comparative historical method are presented as a single whole, their differentiation is only a conditional device that makes it possible to emphasize the practical significance of the historical aspect proper in the application of this method.

Marxist researchers rightly see the comparative historical method not as a function of comparison in cognitive activity in general, but as a relatively independent, systematically organized method of research, in which comparisons serve to achieve specific goals of cognition. This side of the problem should be emphasized especially, since sometimes in our literature logical comparisons are unconditionally identified with the comparative historical method.

This point of view cannot be considered justified, since it leaves in the shade the connection of the method with the historiographical practice, which was pointed out above. Comparing, comparing various variants of the types and structures under study, one should not lose sight of the following point: seemingly unobtrusive phenomena in combination with other features and in the process of further research work can take on a more significant value than in the first assessment.

In terms of methodology for the comparative study of history, this circumstance is of particular importance. It contributes to a more complete disclosure of the essence of the compared phenomena, their multifaceted relationship, while the latter itself will be presented not in a static form, but in the process of development. Thanks to this approach, it becomes possible not only to give a generalized concentrated description of each of the compared phenomena, but also to consider the latter in historical connection, taking into account the common and special features inherent in them.

All these arguments speak in favor of the position expressed earlier that the comparative historical method is broader and more meaningful than comparisons and analogies. The latter act not as a special method of a given science or group of sciences. They can be applied in historical science, as in other areas of knowledge, and regardless of the comparative historical method (although, of course, the former cannot be mechanically opposed to the latter).

The use of the comparative historical method of research requires a concrete historical analysis of the situations being compared; it is unacceptable to compare phenomena on the basis of their external similarity; It is important to remember that any comparison is arbitrary. Given these limitations, the comparative historical method is for the researcher an effective means of understanding man and society.

Historical modeling method (retrospective)

The historical process is unique, historical time is irreversible. It is impossible to really recreate, repeat the past event. But what is impossible as a reality is quite feasible as a mental model, as an objectively reliable description of a historical phenomenon or event. Actually, the creation of such descriptions (or models) of historical phenomena, processes, events and facts, as well as the identification of the patterns of their occurrence, development and functioning in certain specific historical conditions, constitute the task of historical science. Thus, the method of historical modeling performs the most important function in historical research.

Mental model, description historical event or the phenomenon of reconstruction by historians on the basis of historical sources - material remains, documents, photographs and other materials that have survived to our time and allow us to restore a real picture of the past.

The method of historical modeling is also called retrospective - from the Latin words "retro" - back and "spekto" - I look. The essence of the method lies in "retrotelling", i.e. in the movement of the researcher's thought from the present to the past, from studying the elements of the old, preserved to the present day, to reconstructing on their basis the events and phenomena that took place in the history. The possibility of retrotelling is explained by the unity of the past, present and future.

Going from the present to the past, the researcher has the opportunity to consider the various stages of phenomena. Therefore, to delve deeper into the essence of the processes being studied, later to reveal their content.

This position does not mean, of course, that the developed phenomenon of that time plays the role of a standard.

Such a selection serves only as a general scale for a detailed study of the phenomena of the past. Therefore, when applying the retrospective method, the movement from a mature object to the previous one must necessarily be combined with a movement from a less mature to a more mature one. Otherwise, the retrospective method is fraught with the danger of modernizing history. But when in question about the retrospective method, then a more specific meaning is invested in this concept: it is considered as a way of obtaining inferential knowledge about the phenomena of the past. In this case, either the experience of science or a known fact of social practice can act as a mediating element.