Ahistoricism refers to a lack of concern for history, historical development, or tradition.
Charges of ahistoricism are frequently critical, implying that the subject is historically inaccurate or ignorant (for example, an ''ahistorical'' attitude). It can also describe a person's failure to frame an argument or issue in a historical context or to disregard historical fact or implication.
The term can also describe a view that history has no relevance or importance in the decision making of modern life.
In philosophy, some criticism has arisen because "the dominant school of philosophy in the English speaking world,
analytic philosophy
Analytic philosophy is a branch and tradition of philosophy using analysis, popular in the Western world and particularly the Anglosphere, which began around the turn of the 20th century in the contemporary era in the United Kingdom, United ...
... has been trenchantly ahistorical, and indeed anti-historical". However, few view that to be a problem.
A more abstract definition of ahistoricism is simply independence from time: removed from history.
An example is the idea that some concepts are not governed by what is learned or has happened, but they come from an ahistoric power that is independent of what has gone before.
See also
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Anachronism
An anachronism (from the Greek , 'against' and , 'time') is a chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of people, events, objects, language terms and customs from different time periods. The most common ty ...
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Disinformation
Disinformation is false information deliberately spread to deceive people. It is sometimes confused with misinformation, which is false information but is not deliberate.
The English word ''disinformation'' comes from the application of the ...
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Historical revisionism
In historiography, historical revisionism is the reinterpretation of a historical account. It usually involves challenging the orthodox (established, accepted or traditional) views held by professional scholars about a historical event or times ...
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Transhistoricity
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Whig history
Whig history (or Whig historiography) is an approach to historiography that presents history as a journey from an oppressive and benighted past to a "glorious present". The present described is generally one with modern forms of liberal democracy ...
References
Pseudohistory
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