Presentism

Tomorrow is a mystery,
but yesterday is
History

Secrets of times gone by

* Slavery
* Massacres in the name of a peaceful faith
* Axis
* Common Era
* World War I
* Renaissance
* Mercenary
* Rape of Nanjing
* Zionism
* Alger Hiss
* Tulsa Race Massacre
* Kamikaze

v \- t \- e

Cogito ergo sum
Logic and rhetoric

Key articles

* Logical fallacy
* Syllogism
* Argument

General logic

* Tautology
* Reasoning
* Symbolic logic
* Sanctioning the devil
* Formal fallacy
* Checkerboard rule

Bad logic

* Due diligence
* Danth's Law
* Circular reasoning
* Argument from silence
* Affirming the consequent
* Appeal to accomplishment

v \- t \- e

Presentism can refer to either a style of argumentation or philosophical position, depending on the context in which it's used.

In history and sociology, presentism describes when the ideas of the present unduly inform perspectives on the events of the past. The use of the word is pejorative.

In philosophy, presentism is the belief that only the present exists.

## Contents

* 1 History and sociology
* 1.1 Historical determinism and context
* 1.2 Moral judgments
* 1.3 The historian's fallacy
* 1.4 Whig history
* 1.5 Chronological snobbery
* 1.6 History itself as a historical product
* 1.7 Not fallacious
* 2 Criticism
* 3 Philosophy
* 4 External links
* 5 Notes
* 6 References

## History and sociology[edit]

### Historical determinism and context[edit]

In the field of history and sometimes sociology, presentism is a style of writing or argument that can be fallacious, depending on the circumstances. Most simply, presentism refers to, intentionally or unintentionally, writing history from a teleological point of view (or historical determinism) or reading primary documents outside of their historical context. The most blatant forms of presentism are revisionist, negationist, or triumphalist histories attempting to justify the actions of a certain group or paint it as superior. Teleological forms of history like that of Karl Marx or technological determinism (the belief that technology determines history) and triumphalist pseudohistories like those written by David Barton are usually characterized as presentist. Those extolling the good old days or a golden age inevitably commit this fallacy.

### Moral judgments[edit]

Another common form of presentism is allowing present-day moral judgments to creep into characterizations of the historical figures. For example, you can dig up quotes from any number of figures active in civil liberties or equal rights movements that would seem racist, sexist, or otherwise bigoted by today's standards to paint them as crazy, reactionary wingnuts.[note 1] Historians remind us that people are products of their times and so must be judged within that paradigm (though what establishes the moral mandate that they must be judged on such terms isn't exactly clear). It is probably more accurate to say that historians are primarily interested in simply describing the events of history as accurately as possible, and providing moral judgements in one's presentation arguably distorts this aim. This is similar in part to the aim of antrhopologists who espouse a professional cultural relativism.

Some, especially politicians, are often blamed for consequences of their actions that they could not have foreseen. This often boils down to legal-esque argument over whether the individual was negligent, short-sighted, or acting with malicious intent. In good scholarly historical work, like in law, it's imperative to separate the consequences of the action from the intent.

Similar criticism is levelled at fictional works made and/or set in bygone eras, such as with the Brothers Grimm fairy tale "Snow White" especially with the better-known Disney version where Prince Florian is seen in the finale kissing Snow White. Folks have argued that the "true love's kiss" is non-consensual, and whatever resuscitation attempt Prince Florian could done to the girl would amount to rape.[1][2][3] Criticizing the creators for knowingly depicting rape as a positive thing can be called presentist; that being said that doesn’t mean we must therefore consume such media in the modern day uncritically. Doing so may allow the spread of harmful messages in the present period. There is a reason many people don’t simply watch The Birth of a Nation as if it is just another film, even if at the time of release it wasn’t viewed as problematic.

### The historian's fallacy[edit]

The term "historian's fallacy" is sometimes used synonymously with presentism or considered to be a type of presentism. The term was coined by David Hackett Fischer to refer to characterizing the actions or decisions of historical figures as if they had access to all the information we have now in the present.[4] Thus, it is similar to the problem with moral judgments as above. These could be considered a form of outcome or hindsight bias. This is more commonly known among historians as anachronism.

### Whig history[edit]

Steven Pinker The Better Angels of our Nature

Whig history views the past as a march of progress towards the present age of liberty and enlightenment. Assuming that current political ideas were in fact held in the minds of prior figures, it cast those figures in the roles of heroes, people who laid foundations for the current status quo, or villains who opposed them. Whig history frequently appears in the historiography of science, especially in popular works of the Microbe Hunters type. Scientists were either heroes, who are on the side of truth (as is now known), or villains who opposed the emergence of these truths because of ignorance, bias, or clinging to power.

### Chronological snobbery[edit]

C.S. Lewis coined the term "chronological snobbery" for a similar phenomenon in which intellectual accomplishments of the past are considered necessarily inferior to the ones of the present.[5] This could be considered a type of appeal to novelty.

### History itself as a historical product[edit]

Less commonly, presentism is sometimes used to refer to works of history themselves as products of their time. There is some debate between historians over what degree historical works are simply products of their time and if, in fact, this is inevitable. Thus, presentism is often unintentional as well as intentional.

### Not fallacious[edit]

Of course, if you're marshaling historical fact to make an argument about the present, presentism is not fallacious. For example, making an argument for a certain policy based on history is obviously not a fallacy, but is not usually labelled as "presentism" as it's considered within the purview of political science or political philosophy rather than history, though the lines can often be blurry.

## Criticism[edit]

A criticism that is often held against the historian's claims of presentism when applying moral judgements is that it admits a type of moral relativism. Philosophers who espouse objective morality argue that whether or not a given act is morally acceptable or unacceptable is timeless, so it does not constitute a genuine cultural bias when moral judgements are made of historical figures. There is also the question of how far back or what constitute cultural relevancy when speaking to deeds of those in the past. At what point is something far enough in the past as for "present" moral judgements to no longer apply?

Religious figures also object to the claims of presentist bias on the grounds that morality is a eternal standard established by God, and so cannot vary throughout time. To say this is debatable is putting it lightly.

## Philosophy[edit]

In the philosophy of time, presentism is contrasted with eternalism. Presentism is the metaphysical view that only the present moment actually exists, while eternalism holds that all events in time are equally existent. This is unrelated to the concept of "presentism" used by historians.

## External links[edit]

* Against Presentism by Lynn Hunt, American Historical Association (history)
* Presentism entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia (philosophy)
* Historians' Fallacies: Toward a Logic of Historical Thought by David Hackett Fischer

## Notes[edit]

1. ↑ Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin are popular figures for this sort of thing.

## References[edit]

1. ↑ No, kissing someone while they’re unconscious or otherwise incapacitated is NOT romantic
2. ↑ Backlash over Disneyland's Snow White ride's 'kiss without consent'.
3. ↑ Questioning inequalities in Snow White & Beauty and the beast.
4. ↑ Historian's fallacy, Logically Fallacious
5. ↑ C.S. Lewis on Chronological Snobbery by Art Lindsley, C.S. Lewis Institute

v \- t \- e

Articles about logical fallacies

Informal fallacies: |  Appeal to tradition • Appeal to novelty • Appeal to nature • Argument from morality • Argumentum ad martyrdom • Big words • Certum est quia impossibile est • Morton's fork • Friend argument • Exception that proves the rule • Extended analogy • Hindsight bias • Race card • Moralistic fallacy • Release the data • Gish Gallop • Terrorism-baiting • Uncertainty tactic • Greece-baiting • Ham Hightail • Red-baiting • Gore's Law • Nazi analogies • Mistaking the map for the territory • Red herring • Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur • Sunk cost • Two wrongs make a right • Flying carpet fallacy • My enemy's enemy • Appeal to ancient wisdom • Danth's Law • Argumentum ad lunam • Balance fallacy • Golden hammer • Loaded question • Escape to the future • Word magic • Spider-Man fallacy • Sanctioning the devil • Appeal to mystery • Informal fallacy • Common sense • Post-designation • Hyperbole • Relativist fallacy • Due diligence • Straw man • Good old days • Appeal to probability • Infinite regress • Circular reasoning • Media was wrong before • Is–ought problem • Ad iram • Just asking questions • Pink-baiting • Appeal to faith • Appeal to fear • Appeal to bias • Appeal to confidence • Appeal to consequences • Appeal to emotion • Appeal to flattery • Appeal to gravity • Appeal to hate • Argument from omniscience • Argument from silence • Argumentum ad baculum • Argumentum ad fastidium • Association fallacy • Broken window fallacy • Category mistake • Confounding factor • Counterfactual fallacy • Courtier's Reply • Damning with faint praise • Definitional fallacies • Equivocation • Fallacy of accent • Fallacy of accident • Fallacy of amphiboly • Gambler's fallacy • Imprecision fallacy • Moving the goalposts • Nirvana fallacy • Overprecision • Pathos gambit • Pragmatic fallacy • Quote mining • Argumentum ad sarcina inserta • Science doesn't know everything • Slothful induction • Spotlight fallacy • Style over substance • Toupee fallacy • Genuine but insignificant cause • Argument from incredulity • Appeal to age • Argumentum ad nauseam • Phantom distinction • Appeal to common sense • Argumentum ad hysteria • Omnipotence paradox • Argument from etymology • Appeal to trauma •
| Ad hoc: |  No True Scotsman • Moving the goalposts • Escape hatch • Handwave • Special pleading • Slothful induction • Nirvana fallacy • God of the gaps • PIDOOMA • Ad hoc • Tone argument •
| Arguments from ignorance: |  Science doesn't know everything • Argument from incredulity • Argument from silence • Toupee fallacy • Appeal to censorship • Science was wrong before • Holmesian fallacy • Argument from omniscience • Willful ignorance • Argument from ignorance •
| Causation fallacies: |  Post hoc, ergo propter hoc • Correlation does not imply causation • Wrong direction • Counterfactual fallacy • Regression fallacy • Gambler's fallacy • Denying the antecedent • Genuine but insignificant cause •
| Circular reasoning: |  Infinite regress • Argument by assertion • Argumentum ad dictionarium • Appeal to faith • Circular reasoning • Self-refuting idea •
| Emotional appeals: |  Appeal to fear • Appeal to emotion • Appeal to confidence • Deepity • Argumentum ad baculum • Appeal to shame • Appeal to flattery • Tone argument • Appeal to money • Argumentum ad fastidium • Appeal to gravity • Appeal to consequences • Loaded language • Style over substance • Appeal to pity • Appeal to hate • Pathos gambit •
| Fallacies of ambiguity: |  Fallacy of accent • Equivocation • Fallacy of amphiboly • Quote mining • Fallacy of ambiguity • Moral equivalence • Scope fallacy • Suppressed correlative • Not as bad as • Etymology • Continuum fallacy • Wronger than wrong • Definitional fallacies • Code word • Phantom distinction •
Formal fallacies: |  Confusion of the inverse • Denying the antecedent • Non sequitur • Affirmative conclusion from a negative premise • Not even wrong • Chewbacca Defense • Affirming a disjunct • Illicit process • Four-term fallacy • Negative conclusion from affirmative premises • Fallacy fallacy • Substituting explanation for premise • Enthymeme • Syllogism • Formal fallacy • Existential assumption • Masked man fallacy • Self-refuting idea • Argument by gibberish • One single proof • Affirming the consequent • False dilemma • Conjunction fallacy •
Fallacious arguments: |  Bumblebee argument • Fatwa envy • Gotcha argument • Hoyle's fallacy • Intuition pump • Logic and Creation • Not Circular Reasoning • Peanut butter argument • Great Beethoven fallacy • Fallacy of unique founding conditions • Evil is the absence of God • Argument from first cause • How do you know? Were you there? • Argument from design • Argument from beauty • Appeal to nature • Solferino fallacy • Religious scientists • Nothing to hide • Argument from fine tuning • Creep shaming • "I used to be an atheist" • Atheism as a religion • Argumentum ad populum • Argument from morality • Anti-environmentalism • Appeal to bias • Apophasis • Argumentum ad nauseam • Appeal to censorship • Argumentum ad sarcina inserta • Blaming the victim • Bait-and-switch • Danth's Law • Chewbacca Defense • Canard • DARVO • Demonization • Escape hatch • Friend argument • Everyone is racist • Gish Gallop • Greece-baiting • Gore's Law • Ham Hightail • Just asking questions • Leading question • Loaded language • Linking to authority • Loaded question • Lying by omission • Motte and bailey • Nazi analogies • Moving the goalposts • One single proof • Pink-baiting • One-way hash argument • Pathos gambit • Quote mining • Poisoning the well • Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur • Race card • Red-baiting • Red herring • Release the data • Science was wrong before • Shill gambit • Straw man • Silent Majority • Uncertainty tactic • Style over substance • Terrorism-baiting • Weasel word • What's the harm (logical fallacy) • Whataboutism • Bullshit • Logical fallacy • Banana argument • Scapegoat • How come there are still monkeys? • Anti-racist is a code word for anti-white • Ontological argument • Omnipotence paradox • Presuppositionalism • Just a joke •
Conditional fallacies: |  Slippery slope • What's the harm (logical fallacy) • Special pleading • Conditional fallacy • On the spot fallacy • Appeal to the minority • Argumentum ad populum • Galileo gambit • Professor of nothing •
| Genetic fallacies: |  Genetic fallacy •
|  | Appeals to authority: |  Ipse dixit • Appeal to confidence • Argumentum ad populum • Argument from authority • Linking to authority • Silent Majority • Invincible authority • Appeal to celebrity • Ultracrepidarianism • Appeal to the minority • Galileo gambit • Appeal to identity • Weasel word • Professor of nothing •
|  | Ad hominem: |  Ad iram • Argumentum ad cellarium • Bulverism • Poisoning the well • Blaming the victim • Tu quoque • Whataboutism • Nutpicking • Jonanism • Demonization • Shill gambit • Appeal to bias • Fallacy of opposition • Association fallacy • Damning with faint praise • Pathos gambit • Appeal to identity • Argumentum ad hominem • Nazi analogies • Not an argument • Nothing to hide • Scapegoat • 地下室论证 •
| Imprecision fallacies: |  Apex fallacy • Overprecision • Cherry picking • Overgeneralization • Texas sharpshooter fallacy • False analogy • Appeal to fiction • Spotlight fallacy • Pragmatic fallacy • Selection bias • Anecdotal evidence • Category mistake • Nutpicking • Imprecision fallacy • Confounding factor • Fallacy of accident • Neyman's bias •
Valid logical methods: |  Rapoport's Rules • Negative evidence • Reductio ad absurdum •
Fallacy collections: |  SeekFind • Nizkor Project • Fallacy Files • Your Logical Fallacy Is • Logically Fallacious •