Abstract

Analytic history is the legitimate successor of philosophy of history. To speak of laws that predict historical succession no longer seems justified. Nonetheless, generally valid statements about "invariances" continue to be necessary conditions of any objective analysis. Historicism has often confused formal methods and material content and thus erroneously denied important generalizations. A close examination of historical action shows the need for rules, or codes, as frameworks for any action. Such rules or codes condition but do not cause, or determine, individual actions. Since these rules are subject to rational scrutiny, they are able to provide an objective understanding of history. Among all conceptual tools, the founding function is the most powerful one. Thus, the vague statement that culture is dependent on society becomes amenable to a strict logical formulation, which culminates in a formula expressing the categories of historical description