'You don't go in their place': historical empathy in education

Authors

  • UCL Institute of Education

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29393/RH31-3YDLP10003

Keywords:

Historical empathy, criticism of historical empathy in education, philosophy of mind, philosophy of history, students’ ideas

Abstract

Writing about historical empathy and its place in education in the 1980s, Denis Shemilt pointed out that ‘the theory of “empathetic reconstruction” excites the devotion of some and the censure of others. This article discusses the debates that the concept’s introduction in the English educational system caused and the key objections against its implementation in history teaching. These objections, which in some cases are voiced even today, have to do with the concept’s complex meaning, the idea that understanding people in the past is impossible, and pessimistic views about students’ ability to make sense of past behaviour.  In order to counter these objections this article discusses the idea of empathy in the philosophy of mind and the philosophy of history and suggests a definition of the concept in ways that distinguish between problematic and helpful notions related to the concept. It also discusses available research findings about students’ ideas of the concept.

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References

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Published

2024-04-11

How to Cite

Lukas. (2024). ’You don’t go in their place’: historical empathy in education. Revista De Historia, 1(31), hc381. https://doi.org/10.29393/RH31-3YDLP10003

Issue

Section

Enseñanza y aprendizaje de la Historia.