Whigs and stories: Herbert Butterfield and the historiography of science

History of Science

Volumn 41, Issue 2, 2003, Pages 125-140

  Jardine, Nick ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE   (United Kingdom)

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EID: 0041655128     PISSN: 00732753     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/007327530304100201     Document Type: Review

References (97)

1. See, for example, C. Becker, Journal of modern history, iv (1932), 278-9; E. A. Payne, Baptist quarterly, NS, xiv (1951), 90-91; D. C. Somerwell, History, NS, xvii (1932), 86. Reviews of Butterfield's books are fully listed in K. C. Sewell, Providence and method: Herbert Butterfield and the interpretation of history (Sioux Center, Iowa, 2001), 249-54.
2. See, for example, C. Becker, Journal of modern history, iv (1932), 278-9; E. A. Payne, Baptist quarterly, NS, xiv (1951), 90-91; D. C. Somerwell, History, NS, xvii (1932), 86. Reviews of Butterfield's books are fully listed in K. C. Sewell, Providence and method: Herbert Butterfield and the interpretation of history (Sioux Center, Iowa, 2001), 249-54.
3. See, for example, C. Becker, Journal of modern history, iv (1932), 278-9; E. A. Payne, Baptist quarterly, NS, xiv (1951), 90-91; D. C. Somerwell, History, NS, xvii (1932), 86. Reviews of Butterfield's books are fully listed in K. C. Sewell, Providence and method: Herbert Butterfield and the interpretation of history (Sioux Center, Iowa, 2001), 249-54.
4. See, for example, C. Becker, Journal of modern history, iv (1932), 278-9; E. A. Payne, Baptist quarterly, NS, xiv (1951), 90-91; D. C. Somerwell, History, NS, xvii (1932), 86. Reviews of Butterfield's books are fully listed in K. C. Sewell, Providence and method: Herbert Butterfield and the interpretation of history (Sioux Center, Iowa, 2001), 249-54.
5. In Varieties of cultural history (Cambridge, 1997), 1, Peter Burke writes of Butterfield's criticism of "what he called the 'Whig interpretation of history', in other words the use of the past to justify the present". In his "Retrospect" to the 1987 re-issue of his The ancient constitution, J. G. A. Pocock carefully distinguishes "whiggish" in the formal teleological-progressive sense given the word by Butterfield, that of tracing "development towards a pre-determined modernity", from the "Whig history" which tells of the development of the British constitution. See The ancient constitution and the feudal law: A study of English historical thought in the seventeenth century (Cambridge, 1987), 264 and passim; though the index confuses the two.
6. In Varieties of cultural history (Cambridge, 1997), 1, Peter Burke writes of Butterfield's criticism of "what he called the 'Whig interpretation of history', in other words the use of the past to justify the present". In his "Retrospect" to the 1987 re-issue of his The ancient constitution, J. G. A. Pocock carefully distinguishes "whiggish" in the formal teleological-progressive sense given the word by Butterfield, that of tracing "development towards a pre-determined modernity", from the "Whig history" which tells of the development of the British constitution. See The ancient constitution and the feudal law: A study of English historical thought in the seventeenth century (Cambridge, 1987), 264 and passim; though the index confuses the two.
7. In the "Review Articles and Historiography" section of the The historical journal, A. Vickery's "Golden age to separate sphere?", The historical journal, xxxvi (1993), 383-414, does mention "a Whiggish celebration of the rise of feminism", but I take this usage to be close to the traditional acceptation of the term in referring to histories of progressive emancipation. In History today the only uses of 'Whig' and 'Whiggish' in Butterfield's extended sense that I spotted were in a 1985 workshop on history of science.
8. On this genre of historical writing and its opponents see, for example: J. G. A. Pocock, The ancient constitution and the feudal law: A study of English historical thought in the seventeenth century (Cambridge, 1957); J. Hamburger, Macaulay and the Whig tradition (Chicago, 1976); P. B. M. Blaas, Continuity and anachronism: Parliamentary and constitutional development in Whig historiography and in the anti-Whig reaction between 1890 and 1930 (The Hague, 1978); J. W. Burrow, A liberal descent: Victorian historians and the English past (Cambridge, 1981).
9. On this genre of historical writing and its opponents see, for example: J. G. A. Pocock, The ancient constitution and the feudal law: A study of English historical thought in the seventeenth century (Cambridge, 1957); J. Hamburger, Macaulay and the Whig tradition (Chicago, 1976); P. B. M. Blaas, Continuity and anachronism: Parliamentary and constitutional development in Whig historiography and in the anti-Whig reaction between 1890 and 1930 (The Hague, 1978); J. W. Burrow, A liberal descent: Victorian historians and the English past (Cambridge, 1981).
10. On this genre of historical writing and its opponents see, for example: J. G. A. Pocock, The ancient constitution and the feudal law: A study of English historical thought in the seventeenth century (Cambridge, 1957); J. Hamburger, Macaulay and the Whig tradition (Chicago, 1976); P. B. M. Blaas, Continuity and anachronism: Parliamentary and constitutional development in Whig historiography and in the anti-Whig reaction between 1890 and 1930 (The Hague, 1978); J. W. Burrow, A liberal descent: Victorian historians and the English past (Cambridge, 1981).
11. On this genre of historical writing and its opponents see, for example: J. G. A. Pocock, The ancient constitution and the feudal law: A study of English historical thought in the seventeenth century (Cambridge, 1957); J. Hamburger, Macaulay and the Whig tradition (Chicago, 1976); P. B. M. Blaas, Continuity and anachronism: Parliamentary and constitutional development in Whig historiography and in the anti-Whig reaction between 1890 and 1930 (The Hague, 1978); J. W. Burrow, A liberal descent: Victorian historians and the English past (Cambridge, 1981).
12. For a detailed account of these objections to Whig constitutional history see Blaas, Continuity and anachronism.
13. A notable critic of such anachronism, and one whose writing was well known to Butterfield, is F. W. Maitland; see, for example, his introduction to Memoranda de parliamento (London, 1893), and the concluding passage of his "Doomsday Book and beyond", Three essays in the early history of England (London, 1897). On Maitland's promotion of the "historical sense" which treats past actions and institutions in their own terms, see R. L. Schuyler, "Introduction", Frederic William Maitland, historian. Selections from his writings (Berkeley, 1960), 1-45.
14. A notable critic of such anachronism, and one whose writing was well known to Butterfield, is F. W. Maitland; see, for example, his introduction to Memoranda de parliamento (London, 1893), and the concluding passage of his "Doomsday Book and beyond", Three essays in the early history of England (London, 1897). On Maitland's promotion of the "historical sense" which treats past actions and institutions in their own terms, see R. L. Schuyler, "Introduction", Frederic William Maitland, historian. Selections from his writings (Berkeley, 1960), 1-45.
15. A notable critic of such anachronism, and one whose writing was well known to Butterfield, is F. W. Maitland; see, for example, his introduction to Memoranda de parliamento (London, 1893), and the concluding passage of his "Doomsday Book and beyond", Three essays in the early history of England (London, 1897). On Maitland's promotion of the "historical sense" which treats past actions and institutions in their own terms, see R. L. Schuyler, "Introduction", Frederic William Maitland, historian. Selections from his writings (Berkeley, 1960), 1-45.
16. See, for example, J. H. Hexter's witty "The historian and his day", in his Reappraisals in history (London, 1961), 1-13; A. Wilson and T. Ashplant, "Present-centred history and the problem of historical knowledge", Historical journal, xxxi (1988), 253-74.
17. See, for example, J. H. Hexter's witty "The historian and his day", in his Reappraisals in history (London, 1961), 1-13; A. Wilson and T. Ashplant, "Present-centred history and the problem of historical knowledge", Historical journal, xxxi (1988), 253-74.
18. "Commentary", in A. C. Crombie (ed.), Scientific change. Symposium on the history of science, University of Oxford, 9-15 July 1961 (London, 1963), 861-5. I thank Simon Schaffer for drawing my attention to this passage.
19. Ibid., 797-812.
20. Ibid., 811.
21. Ibid., 862-3.
22. Ibid., 865.
23. Ibid., 876.
24. Blaas, Continuity and anachronism (ref. 4). In particular, he convincingly relates aspects of the attack on Whig history to the separation of history from law in the British universities at the end of the nineteenth century and to the concomitant revolt against the anachronisms arising from the search for precedents for present practices and institutions. Other aspects Blaas associates with the need perceived by reformers to liberate British legal and political practices from the burden of the past.
25. Concern with this kind of anachronism does not loom at all large in Butterfield's other writings. Indeed, the only clear instance I have spotted is his charge of anachronism against disciples of Louis Namier, who had referred to the so-called "King's Friends" of George III as "Civil Servants" - and even there Butterfield's real objection is not to the anachronism per se, but rather to an inappropriate moral judgement that went with it, namely that the Whigs were wrong to oppose the King's Friends. See George III and the historians (London, 1958; hereafter GIII), 294-5.
26. See, e.g., A. Wilson and T. G. Ashplant, "Whig history and present-centred history", The historical journal, xxi (1988), 1-16; A. Cunningham, "Getting the game right: Some plain words on the identity of the history of science", Studies in history and philosophy of science, xix (1988), 365-89.
27. See, e.g., A. Wilson and T. G. Ashplant, "Whig history and present-centred history", The historical journal, xxi (1988), 1-16; A. Cunningham, "Getting the game right: Some plain words on the identity of the history of science", Studies in history and philosophy of science, xix (1988), 365-89.
28. On the "common-law mind" and Whig historiography see Pocock, op. cit. (ref. 2), 255-385; Blaas, Continuity and anachronism (ref. 4), ch. 4.
29. On the "common-law mind" and Whig historiography see Pocock, op. cit. (ref. 2), 255-385; Blaas, Continuity and anachronism (ref. 4), ch. 4.
30. On the didactic histories of the inter-war years see W. Sherratt, "History of science in education: An investigation into the role and use of historical ideas and material in education with particular reference to science education in the English secondary schools since the nineteenth century", Ph.D. thesis, University of Leicester, 1980; W. H. Brock, "Past, present, and future", in M. Shortland and A. Warwick (eds), Teaching the history of science (London, 1984), 30-41; A.-K. Mayer, "Moralising science: The uses of science's past in national education in the 1920s", The British journal for the history of science, xxx (1997), 51-70.
31. On the didactic histories of the inter-war years see W. Sherratt, "History of science in education: An investigation into the role and use of historical ideas and material in education with particular reference to science education in the English secondary schools since the nineteenth century", Ph.D. thesis, University of Leicester, 1980; W. H. Brock, "Past, present, and future", in M. Shortland and A. Warwick (eds), Teaching the history of science (London, 1984), 30-41; A.-K. Mayer, "Moralising science: The uses of science's past in national education in the 1920s", The British journal for the history of science, xxx (1997), 51-70.
32. On the didactic histories of the inter-war years see W. Sherratt, "History of science in education: An investigation into the role and use of historical ideas and material in education with particular reference to science education in the English secondary schools since the nineteenth century", Ph.D. thesis, University of Leicester, 1980; W. H. Brock, "Past, present, and future", in M. Shortland and A. Warwick (eds), Teaching the history of science (London, 1984), 30-41; A.-K. Mayer, "Moralising science: The uses of science's past in national education in the 1920s", The British journal for the history of science, xxx (1997), 51-70.
33. See my "The uses and abuses of anachronism in the history of the sciences", History of science, xxxviii (2000), 251-70.
34. Much of Butterfield's historiographical agenda can, I suspect, be related to the upheavals in the teaching of history at Cambridge in the 1920s and early '30s. Cambridge had a long tradition of teaching Whig history, and Butterfield was one of those campaigning for a more 'professional' approach and for a better integration of the various branches of history. These agitations achieved a measure of success in 1934 with the inclusion of teaching of research methods in the syllabus and the integration of the constitutional and economic history papers. See J. O. McLachlan, "The origin and early development of the Cambridge Historical Tripos", The Cambridge historical journal, ix (1947), 78-105; G. Kitson Clark, "A hundred years of the teaching of history at Cambridge, 1873-1973", The historical journal, xvi (1973), 535-53.
35. Much of Butterfield's historiographical agenda can, I suspect, be related to the upheavals in the teaching of history at Cambridge in the 1920s and early '30s. Cambridge had a long tradition of teaching Whig history, and Butterfield was one of those campaigning for a more 'professional' approach and for a better integration of the various branches of history. These agitations achieved a measure of success in 1934 with the inclusion of teaching of research methods in the syllabus and the integration of the constitutional and economic history papers. See J. O. McLachlan, "The origin and early development of the Cambridge Historical Tripos", The Cambridge historical journal, ix (1947), 78-105; G. Kitson Clark, "A hundred years of the teaching of history at Cambridge, 1873-1973", The historical journal, xvi (1973), 535-53.
36. WIH, 3, 98; Herbert Butterfield-Essays in the history of science, ed. by K. W. Schweitzer (Lewiston, 1998; hereafter EHS), 19-22.
37. WIH, 3, 98; Herbert Butterfield-Essays in the history of science, ed. by K. W. Schweitzer (Lewiston, 1998; hereafter EHS), 19-22.
38. WIH, 10, 131.
39. See, for example, "The historian and the history of science", Bulletin of the British Society for the History of Science, i (1950), 49-58, p. 51; "The history of science and the study of history", EHS, 1-17.
40. See, for example, "The historian and the history of science", Bulletin of the British Society for the History of Science, i (1950), 49-58, p. 51; "The history of science and the study of history", EHS, 1-17.
41. The study of modern history (London, 1944), 13-14, cf. WIH, 38.
42. The study of modern history (London, 1944), 13-14, cf. WIH, 38.
43. See, for example, "The historian and the history of science", 52, 58.
44. The historical novel: An essay (Cambridge, 1924), 28ff.; cf. WIH, 91-92, 99, 125, and SMH, 30-31.
45. The historical novel: An essay (Cambridge, 1924), 28ff.; cf. WIH, 91-92, 99, 125, and SMH, 30-31.
46. The historical novel: An essay (Cambridge, 1924), 28ff.; cf. WIH, 91-92, 99, 125, and SMH, 30-31.
47. WIH, 94.
48. Scientific American, lxxxviii (1953), 95-98, p. 96.
49. WIH, 15, 30.
50. See, for example, "Antidote to dogmatic history", Time and tide, xxvii (1946), 29-30.
51. WIH, pp. v-vi.
52. C. T. McIntire, "Introduction: Herbert Butterfield on Christianity and history", in Herbert Butterfield. Writings on Christianity and history (Oxford, 1979), pp. xi-lviii; M. Cowling, "Herbert Butterfield 1900-1979", Proceedings of the British Academy, lxv (1979), 595-609.
53. C. T. McIntire, "Introduction: Herbert Butterfield on Christianity and history", in Herbert Butterfield. Writings on Christianity and history (Oxford, 1979), pp. xi-lviii; M. Cowling, "Herbert Butterfield 1900-1979", Proceedings of the British Academy, lxv (1979), 595-609.
54. WIH, 15; cf. the comparison of microscopic and telescopic history in GIII, 200.
55. WIH, 15; cf. the comparison of microscopic and telescopic history in GIII, 200.
56. EHS, 26.
57. WIH, passim.
58. E. H. Carr, What is history? (London, 1961), 35. Burrow, A liberal descent (ref. 4), 300, writes of "Butterfield's celebration - in time of war - of the Whig tradition, in The Englishman and his history, which he had earlier so effectively criticised". J. G. A. Pocock poses "das Herbert Butterfieldproblem: that of seeing how the complacent progressivism criticised in The Whig interpretation of history could coexist with the complacent antiquarianism admired in The Englishman and his history": Virtue, commerce and history (Cambridge, 1985), 305.
59. E. H. Carr, What is history? (London, 1961), 35. Burrow, A liberal descent (ref. 4), 300, writes of "Butterfield's celebration - in time of war - of the Whig tradition, in The Englishman and his history, which he had earlier so effectively criticised". J. G. A. Pocock poses "das Herbert Butterfieldproblem: that of seeing how the complacent progressivism criticised in The Whig interpretation of history could coexist with the complacent antiquarianism admired in The Englishman and his history": Virtue, commerce and history (Cambridge, 1985), 305.
60. E. H. Carr, What is history? (London, 1961), 35. Burrow, A liberal descent (ref. 4), 300, writes of "Butterfield's celebration - in time of war - of the Whig tradition, in The Englishman and his history, which he had earlier so effectively criticised". J. G. A. Pocock poses "das Herbert Butterfieldproblem: that of seeing how the complacent progressivism criticised in The Whig interpretation of history could coexist with the complacent antiquarianism admired in The Englishman and his history": Virtue, commerce and history (Cambridge, 1985), 305.
61. E. H. Carr, What is history? (London, 1961), 35. Burrow, A liberal descent (ref. 4), 300, writes of "Butterfield's celebration - in time of war - of the Whig tradition, in The Englishman and his history, which he had earlier so effectively criticised". J. G. A. Pocock poses "das Herbert Butterfieldproblem: that of seeing how the complacent progressivism criticised in The Whig interpretation of history could coexist with the complacent antiquarianism admired in The Englishman and his history": Virtue, commerce and history (Cambridge, 1985), 305.
62. V. Mehta, Fly and the fly-bottle: Encounters with British intellectuals (Harmondsworth, 1965), 211-13.
63. EHH, 11; cf 83.
64. Ibid, 3. A. J. Woolford mistakes this gentle irony for conclusive evidence that in EHH Butterfield rejects his own earlier critique of Whig history: see his review of EHH in Scrutiny, xiii (1945-46), 6.
65. Ibid, 3. A. J. Woolford mistakes this gentle irony for conclusive evidence that in EHH Butterfield rejects his own earlier critique of Whig history: see his review of EHH in Scrutiny, xiii (1945-46), 6.
66. Ibid., 78-79; cf. 35, 83ff.
67. Herbert Butterfield, The origins of modern science (London, 1949; hereafter OMS), p. ix.
68. WIH, 23.
69. WIH, 47.
70. WIH, 5 and passim.
71. WIH, 41.
72. WIH, 41ff.; cf. his endorsement of the Marxist recognition of the role of conflict in historical development in "History and the Marxian method", Scrutiny, i (1932-33), 339-55.
73. WIH, 41ff.; cf. his endorsement of the Marxist recognition of the role of conflict in historical development in "History and the Marxian method", Scrutiny, i (1932-33), 339-55.
74. GIII, 210. See also "Marxist history", HHR, 90ff.; this is not, as stated by Hinton, a revised version of his "History and the Marxian method" of 1933 - the two articles differ greatly, notably in the much stronger criticism in the latter of Marxist failure to do justice to the roles in the historical process of intellectual factors. See R. W. K. Hinton, "Bibliography of Sir Herbert Butterfield's writings (to 1968)", in J. H. Elliott and H. G. Koenigsberger (eds), The diversity of history: Essays in honour of Sir Herbert Butterfield (London, 1970), 317-25. For a full critical bibliography, see Sewell, Providence and method (ref. 1), 224-45, "Bibliography of the published works of Sir Herbert Butterfield in the English language".
75. GIII, 210. See also "Marxist history", HHR, 90ff.; this is not, as stated by Hinton, a revised version of his "History and the Marxian method" of 1933 - the two articles differ greatly, notably in the much stronger criticism in the latter of Marxist failure to do justice to the roles in the historical process of intellectual factors. See R. W. K. Hinton, "Bibliography of Sir Herbert Butterfield's writings (to 1968)", in J. H. Elliott and H. G. Koenigsberger (eds), The diversity of history: Essays in honour of Sir Herbert Butterfield (London, 1970), 317-25. For a full critical bibliography, see Sewell, Providence and method (ref. 1), 224-45, "Bibliography of the published works of Sir Herbert Butterfield in the English language".
76. GIII, 210. See also "Marxist history", HHR, 90ff.; this is not, as stated by Hinton, a revised version of his "History and the Marxian method" of 1933 - the two articles differ greatly, notably in the much stronger criticism in the latter of Marxist failure to do justice to the roles in the historical process of intellectual factors. See R. W. K. Hinton, "Bibliography of Sir Herbert Butterfield's writings (to 1968)", in J. H. Elliott and H. G. Koenigsberger (eds), The diversity of history: Essays in honour of Sir Herbert Butterfield (London, 1970), 317-25. For a full critical bibliography, see Sewell, Providence and method (ref. 1), 224-45, "Bibliography of the published works of Sir Herbert Butterfield in the English language".
77. GIII, 210. See also "Marxist history", HHR, 90ff.; this is not, as stated by Hinton, a revised version of his "History and the Marxian method" of 1933 - the two articles differ greatly, notably in the much stronger criticism in the latter of Marxist failure to do justice to the roles in the historical process of intellectual factors. See R. W. K. Hinton, "Bibliography of Sir Herbert Butterfield's writings (to 1968)", in J. H. Elliott and H. G. Koenigsberger (eds), The diversity of history: Essays in honour of Sir Herbert Butterfield (London, 1970), 317-25. For a full critical bibliography, see Sewell, Providence and method (ref. 1), 224-45, "Bibliography of the published works of Sir Herbert Butterfield in the English language".
78. Mehta, Fly and the fly-bottle (ref. 37), 198.
79. See, for example, EHS, 25.
80. WIH, 103; OMS, p. viii.
81. WIH, 103; OMS, p. viii.
82. WIH, 62-63, 75.
83. See "History and the Marxian method", and "Marxist history" (ref. 47).
84. For a masterly treatment of this issue see Sewell, Providence and method (ref. 1); also McIntire, op. cit. (ref. 32), and R. Cabral, "Herbert Butterfield (1900-1974) as a Christian philosopher of science", Studies in history and philosophy of science, xxvii (1996), 547-64.
85. For a masterly treatment of this issue see Sewell, Providence and method (ref. 1); also McIntire, op. cit. (ref. 32), and R. Cabral, "Herbert Butterfield (1900-1974) as a Christian philosopher of science", Studies in history and philosophy of science, xxvii (1996), 547-64.
86. For a masterly treatment of this issue see Sewell, Providence and method (ref. 1); also McIntire, op. cit. (ref. 32), and R. Cabral, "Herbert Butterfield (1900-1974) as a Christian philosopher of science", Studies in history and philosophy of science, xxvii (1996), 547-64.
87. Goethe, Die Schriften zur Naturwissenschaft (ed. of Akademie der Naturforscher, Weimar, 1947), ix, 95-96; Goethe's botanical writings, transl. by B. Mueller (Honolulu, 1952), 232-3.
88. Goethe, Die Schriften zur Naturwissenschaft (ed. of Akademie der Naturforscher, Weimar, 1947), ix, 95-96; Goethe's botanical writings, transl. by B. Mueller (Honolulu, 1952), 232-3.
89. Butterfield introduced the term 'technical history' in Christianity and history. In his later writings he did, on occasion, note (with regret) the inextricability of description from interpretation and explanation: see, for example, HHR, 249-50. On criticisms of Butterfield's notion of technical history see Sewell, Providence and method (ref. 1), chs 9 and 14.
90. Butterfield introduced the term 'technical history' in Christianity and history. In his later writings he did, on occasion, note (with regret) the inextricability of description from interpretation and explanation: see, for example, HHR, 249-50. On criticisms of Butterfield's notion of technical history see Sewell, Providence and method (ref. 1), chs 9 and 14.
91. J. A. Secord, "Introduction", The British journal for the history of science, xxvi (1993), 387-9, p. 388.
92. N. Jardine, The scenes of inquiry: On the reality of questions in the sciences (Oxford, 1991), ch. 7.
93. Cf. Pocock's ironic understatement (in countering the charge of Whiggishness against his procedures in The ancient constitution and the feudal law) that if we are out to explain how certain capacities were acquired "there is much to be said for starting at a time when they did not exist and showing why they did not yet exist and what the changes were which led to their being acquired subsequently": Pocock, "Retrospect" (ref. 2), 257.
94. H. G. Gadamer, Wahrheit und Methode: Grundzüge einer philosophischen Hermeneutik (Tübingen, 1960); transl. of 2nd edn by W. Glen-Doepel, Truth and method (London, 1975).
95. H. G. Gadamer, Wahrheit und Methode: Grundzüge einer philosophischen Hermeneutik (Tübingen, 1960); transl. of 2nd edn by W. Glen-Doepel, Truth and method (London, 1975).
96. EHS, 22.
97. EHS, 4.