Philosophy of Social Science

I lament the fact that people do not see history as a Hegelian procession -like a river- you cannot view the events of the past through the lens of today. You can, however, deconstruct it through a historical lens via an archeology or genealogy (hurray Foucault!) There is a sore lack of appreciation for social science theory and philosophy (alas!)

I write this little brief rant because I read a piece on DailyKos discussing Native American history that devolved into a discussion of how Native Americans had slaves. Well- Duh! Some of them did, as did many ancient and not so ancient civilizations. But, in the time period they were studying, it was mostly as a means for the Cherokee, specifically, to show how "white" they were, in the hopes that they would not be removed off of their lands. In the end, it turned out to merely be a continuation of the "modernization" of the Cherokees so that they appear "civilized" (sadly, I believe that this rhetoric and subsequent actions are still largely the prevalent model for development, as imposed by Western countries on the Third World. But I digress).

So yes, if you are going to produce critical history and comment on it, please please please, try to understand it through a historical lens- not your own.