B1 Non-refereed article in a scientific journal

Defeating the Ideal Chronicler: The Problem with the Thought Experiment





AuthorsVirmajoki, Veli

PublisherBrill

Publication year2025

JournalJournal of the Philosophy of History

ISSN1872-261X

eISSN1872-2636

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1163/18722636-12341562

Web address https://doi.org/10.1163/18722636-12341562


Abstract

In this Letter to the Editor, I argue that Danto’s Ideal Chronicler thought experiment in philosophy of history conflates the properties of events with the relations between events. This oversight leads to misunderstandings regarding the nature of historical knowledge and historical events. The experiment fails to establish any non-trivial conclusions about the retrospective nature of historical truths or the constitution of historical events.



Last updated on 2025-30-07 at 14:41