ABSTRACT
Historians have always puzzled over which came first, the individual or history. The fact that the basic laws of logic seemed to be suspended when discussing the relative priority of history and individuality, was made less scandalous via the concept of emulation, which made identities appear stable while allowing for their creative fusion. In order to examine how emulation achieves this exceptional sleight of hand the chapter examines several attempts to grapple with this system of contradictions, each attempt highlighting a fresh aspect of this complex concept. Finally, it shows that these discussions are related to the full concept of emulation, the key figure of eighteenth-century mentality. The currently championed ideals of research, organisation and exposition of results were matters that were continually seen as being in need of reformulation and not matters that had been resolved or were recognisably modern and therefore self-evidently legitimate.
