Greek European Culture

History, Literature, Science

Herodotus: the father of our liberal arts?

By Sylvain Rey



Henrik Ibsen, A Doll's House

Have we lost something by discarding whatever element we do not need to answer our inquiry? Perhaps… There seems to be a trend, in the past decades or so, to regroup several previously distinct fields of study. Historians make use of sociological works, archaeologists make abundant use of ethnographic accounts, etc. Perhaps we have come to realize that the element by itself means little to nothing if it does not take into account the context in which it exists. Yet, there is one thing that will always unify these different fields of study, and that shows how arbitrary the distinction is. Whatever we are–sociologists, archaeologists, anthropologists, historians, geographers, etc.–the basic methodology remains the same. In a research–historein in Greek–the question to a problem is answered by analyzing different sources, criticizing them, and reaching a logical conclusion. This method, which constitutes the core of modern scientific reasoning, and which is absent in Herodotus, can be applied by anyone, regardless of his training, to any of the fields that make up the liberal arts today. If we are a historian, we may as well, and very easily, apply the same method to geography or ethnology. Thus, the trend has been to reconstruct, over the past decades, what had been deconstructed in Modern times. This is why Herodotus is central to us today, because he naturally combined things that we would consider separate today, but which were to him one and the same thing. In this sense he was more than the father of history, he was the father of ethnology and geography as well.

3 Comments

  1. Vasiliki D

    This is such a relevant article. Especially at a time where the Orthodox Christians in America are ‘re-structuring’ Orthodox terminology and categories to suit a “grafting” into the tree of predominately ex-Protestants ……. it is no longer acceptable (and I challenge anyone to find) to post the word “Greek Orthodox” church as a collective term for “Eastern Orthodoxy” on the Internet … is this wrong or right … I am not in a position to qualify that question … but it is definately an interesting observation I have noticed and an increasing trend to “wipe out” any reference to “Greek” in history associated with the Church ….

  2. Hi Vasiliki,

    Thank you for your comment. Orthodoxy in America indeed suffers from many drawbacks, due to the environemnt in which it is located. Sometimes, it reminds me in some ways of teh early Church, which was “infiltrated,” if I may say so, by diverse currents such as Marcionism, Gnosticism, etc. The struggle to keep the faith pure was hard, but the Church eventually pevailed. We live in a world where keeping one’s faith is almost considered fanatical and backwards. But those who keep it intact are those who are truly faithful.

    Sylvain.

  3. Vasiliki

    This is true. The Church will always prevail … there are many good things to come about because of this change, namely more accessible Orthodoxy!

    I like your blog Sylvain.