Generalisation in History

Generalisation is a process of framing principles, theories, and concepts by establishing relationships between facts. Generalisations can be drawn out from the facts through systematic analysis and interpretation. Though historians have different views regarding the role of historical generalisation, it is widely accepted as an inevitable part of historical research. In the words of Lord Acton “History is a generalized account of the personal stories of men united in bodies for any public purposes whatever”. E.H. Carr emphatically contended that history is a social science, not art, because historians, like scientists, seek generalizations that help to broaden the understanding of one's subject.

In the development of historiography, several historians tried to find out general laws or principles in explaining the historical process. Thucydides synthesized historical facts in order to construct general principles based on morality and ethics. St. Augustine formulated his providential philosophy of history to present historical progress. Positive philosophers formulated new principles and generalizations on a scientific basis. Many philosophers of history and theoreticians tried to explain historical events through theoretical and conceptual frames. An array of intellectuals like Rousseau, Gibbon, Carlyle, Niebuhr, Ranke, Comte, Mill, Kant, Hegel, Buckle, Spengler, Marx, Toynbee, and so on used history to draw generalizations to explain the fundamental forces and factors that prompted historical events.

Lower and Higher Levels of Generalisation

There are two levels of generalisations: Lower and Higher.

• A lower level generalisation is a descriptive statement about the past delivered by the historian after the verification of his various sources and its interpretation. Here, Generalizations are descriptive statements of relationships between two or more concepts. In the presentation of research work, a historian makes several general statements about the past, which he/she thinks are correct.
• Higher-level generalisation aims to formulate general principles, theories, and concepts about the past by establishing relations with the facts. Empirical disciplines, like history use theory to generalize from many specific findings. Ideas are indispensable for generalizations.

The Process of Historical Generalisation

• The initial stage in the process of generalisation is the formulation of a hypothesis, which helps the researcher, to begin with, a focus.
• Then, the process of generalisation begins with the grouping of the facts. Facts must be grouped, arranged, and organised according to their similarities and dissimilarities.
• Reasoning and further interpretation of the facts help the researcher to organise his facts in a defined manner. In the process of interpretation, events may be serialised on the basis of the facts.
• Establishing a connection or relation between the facts is the next stage of generalisation. This factual connection enables the researcher to outline general schemes or principles. It helps the researcher to generalise the related facts by connecting them with concepts.

Features and Importance of Generalisation

• Many historians consider the purpose of generalization is to learn lessons from history.
• Generalisations are necessary in history in order to explain the fundamental forces that prompted events in the past.
• A generalisation of a series of historical events will help draw all the separate details into an overall pattern.
• Generalisation enables the historian to predict the future by outlining overall patterns in historical progress. 
• Generalisations enable us to explain the processes and events we experience.
• Generalisation often explains the cause and its effect.
• Generalisation describes two or more concepts and relationships among them.
• Generalizations link facts and concepts and summarize human experiences.

Debate on Historical Generalisation

The idea of historical generalisation was rejected by many historians. They argue that in history, it is not possible to formulate generalizations, because the fact cannot be directly observed. History deals with a sequence of unique events, hence it is not possible to draw generalisation. History does not repeat itself and thereby, generalization is not possible and the future cannot be predicted with certainty.

Another view holds that the generalisation is the duty of every historian, which makes his account knowledgeable. History can offer broad principles and generalizations and exhibits common trends, tendencies, and patterns. Cultural content is common to humanity. All the known civilizations have developed along similar lines. This repetitive nature of history enables the historian to generalize. Generalization is possible because historical events are strikingly similar.

Conclusion

A generalization must be based upon a balanced approach. Theories are one of the prominent sources of generalisation in history. Many historical generalisations are driven by life experiences. Historians also derive generalisations from the study of the present. Also, derive generalisations from active data collection and its systematic analysis. In short, “All historians practice generalization anyway”.