ABSTRACT
In this and subsequent chapters I examine certain common kinds of causal explanation in history more closely, to identify their structures and presuppositions as clearly as I can. Explanations of individual actions are discussed in this chapter, explanations of collective actions in the next, and explanations of social change in Chapter 10. It is interesting to compare the logical structure of the explanations which historians give in practice with the model of genetic causal explanation given in the last chapter. To do that I have to uncover the logical structure of the explanations commonly found in history books. It is also interesting to notice the way in which historians’ general presuppositions about the causes of events in the world influence their choice of explanation. Some of these assumptions are contested, as will be seen.
