ABSTRACT
CHAPTER OVERVIEW History is an event or set of events that has happened while the present is a point on a continuum of change. History has a future because the interpretation of the relics or evidence of historical persons and events can change as a result of the discovery of new relics while the events and persons themselves remain unchanged. So even though historical events and persons do not change, the interpretation of their significance can change, thus making the study of history known as historiography a dynamic enterprise. Inasmuch as history is elusive, different approaches for understanding the nature of history are examined, including the cyclical (history repeats itself), progressive (we learn and benefit from the past), and dynamic systems or chaotic (patternless events happen) models of history. We indicate some of the consequences of these models for the history of psychology.
