Author(s)

Xiaolong Yu

Corresponding Author

Xiaolong Yu

Abstract

Historical researchers cannot naturally have hindsight. Late-comers cannot take the establishment of man's subjectivity in historical cognitive activities for granted. From Croce, Collingwood to White, the objectivity of history is constantly being decomposed, and at the same time, historians' hindsight is gradually being weakened. However, Hegel and Marx reconstruct the premise and foundation of objective historical cognition through the dialectical criticism of thinking and the affirmation of the practical nature of human beings. Subjective intention is indispensable in historical facts. It and its dependent historical context are mutually constructed through practical activities. At the same time, hindsight can also reflect and criticize historians' “subjectivity”. In this sense, the hindsight of historians is not only an ideal, but also a rational demand.

Keywords

Historian, Subjectivity, Hindsight, Historical objectivity