science

Transhistoricity

Transhistoricity is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Transhistoricity rather than just read about it. In short: Transhistoricity is the quality of holding throughout human history, not merely within the frame of reference of a particular form of society at a particular stage of historical development. An entity or concept that has transhistoricity is said to be transhistorical.

Key takeaways

Transhistoricity belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Transhistoricity to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Transhistoricity from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Transhistoricity is the quality of holding throughout human history, not merely within the frame of reference of a particular form of society at a particular stage of historical development. An entity or concept that has transhistoricity is said to be transhistorical. Certain theories of history (e.g. that of Hegel), treat human history as divided into distinct epochs with their own internal logics—historical materialism is the most famous case of such a theory. States of affairs which hold within one epoch may be completely absent, or carry opposite implications in another, according to these theories.

In the abstract Transhistoricity may be seen as the necessary antithesis to the idea that meanings are bounded by their historical context. It is the temporal equivalent of the spatial concept of universality.

In sociopolitical theory Questions of what might and might not be transhistorical phenomena are typically the concern of historians and sociologists identifying with the historicist traditions of Hegelian or Marxian thought, but matter additionally in the debates around Kuhn's notion of paradigm shift. Fredric Jameson, a Marxist literary theorist, asserted that theory must "Always historicize!", going on to observe that this order was itself a "transhistorical imperative". Others look for transhistorical continuities to inform what's basic to the human condition. For example, D. K. Simonton, finds some regularities in the types of ideas that gain ascendancy following certain types of historical events, in a data series spanning 2,500 years. In more recent years, research in the vicinity of evolutionary psychology has proceeded on the basis that some observed transcultural regularities in human behaviour are also transhistoric, accounted for by their being fixed in the genetic legacy common to all Homo sapiens.

In aesthetics Part of the debate over the distinction between high art and folk art (or lesser disciplines) hinges on the question of whether art can (and if so, if it should) aspire to transcend the particular frame of reference within which it was produced. This frame may be taken to be historically delimited.

See also Critique of political economy Whig history

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Transhistoricity

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Transhistoricity claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Transhistoricity before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Transhistoricity ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Transhistoricity

In research: Transhistoricity appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Transhistoricity in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Transhistoricity is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Historiography, Periodization, Social history, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Transhistoricity outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Transhistoricity in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Transhistoricity means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Transhistoricity out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Transhistoricity in simple terms?

Why does Transhistoricity matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Transhistoricity?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Transhistoricity.