On page 117, in the essay entitled “Historicism, History, and the Figurative Imagination,” we read the following: But if my hypothesis is correct, there can be no such thing as a non-relativistic representation of historical reality, inasmuch as every account of the past is mediated by the language-mode in which the historian casts his original description of the historical field prior to any analysis, explanation, or interpretation he may offer of it. We read this classic Hayden White piece (originally […]
Tag: Trope
Our Highest Ideals
I recall a close friend, almost 30 years ago, to whom I asked the following often-heard question, when they’d just had their first child: Is he a good baby? His reply? We don’t believe in making moral judgments about our child. I admit that the answer came as a bit of a surprise, since I was simply interested in knowing if the baby was sleeping the whole night through and eating ok; but, sure, after I thought about it for […]