Do you moralize history?

Question: Do you moralize history!?
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

I think that everyone does to some extant!. I also believe that intellectual historians lament and attempt to avoid doing so!. It's difficult to remove personal convictions and morality from any kind of analysis!. Consequentially, personality may leak into historical assessments!. However, spotting and avoiding these pitfalls is the hallmark of a good historian!.

I will also say that there is a positive role our own ethical analysis plays in historical studies!. After all, it is our desire to experience the past firsthand that generates our passion!. Judging something on its moral bases is one way of achieving this!. also, recognizing that people of the past weren't so different from those today implies a direction to judge them on today's standards!.

Attaining the facts involved are important before making any assumptions however!. For example, Matt and I had a discussion regarding Marxism the other day, my answer was general and hinted no specifics towards the theories of Marx, because quite frankly I am not intimately familiar with his work!. I can still make a value based judgment on its perils and pitfalls, using historical data rather than intuition or personal politics however!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

when you moralize anything, you make judgments, and therefore, tend to change it or put a slant on it that wasn't even there!.
the best thing to do with history, whether it be world or your personal history, is to look at the facts as they really were, and then decide what you think of it, but to moralize would only change the reality, don't you think!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

i don't really understand how moralizing history can be done with any kind of intellectual honesty!. Doing so is a nice dirty way of destroying some unrealistic arguments, but to try to apply the same morals to a different time or different culture is completely utterly impossible without a bit of cultural arrogance dominating the discussion and superseding any kind of realism!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

No a good historian can't moralize history or think of it in today's terms!. You can look back and see how a course of action has lead up to some of the problems of today!. One theme that flows through history is the end justifies the means that is for sure!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I think history moralizes us!.Www@QuestionHome@Com