The constructivist understanding of history and its ethical dimension
The constructivist understanding of history and its ethical dimension

Summary/Abstract: The author of the article introduces Hayden White’s, Frank Ankersmit’s, and Jouni-Matti Kuukkanen’s constructivist understanding of history. He contrasts their understandings of history with the traditional understanding, which sup- poses direct correspondence of historical work to the past. In his presentations of constructivist thought, he points out their emphasis on legitimate possibilities of different methods of construction and ways of presentation, which result in different historical representations of historical events. Differences among historical representations of the past can also be related to the historian’s choice of different constructive methods and also the involvement of his/her preferred moral and political values. These constructivist understandings of history, with the deeper analysis of process writing, incite the historian to deeper ethical self awareness of his/her work.

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