Against Relativism

Abstract

In 1942, the philosopher of science Carl G. Hempel wrote an article, 'The Functions of General Laws in History', in which he claimed that historians explain the events of human history in the same way in which natural scientists explain physical events. His thesis was a counter to the Hegelian distinction between nature and spirit which, in turn, suggested a further distinction between those sciences studying the physical world and those studying man as a spiritual being. Hempel's work seemed to challenge this dualistic conception of science at its very foundations.