Now in its third edition, Narration and Knowledge is a classic work exploring th
e nature of historical knowledge and its reliance on narrative. Analytical philo
sopher Arthur C. Danto introduces the concept of "narrative sentences," in which
an event is described with reference to later events (for example, "the Thirty
Years' War began in 1618") and discusses why such sentences cannot be understood
until the later event happens (no one could have said in 1618 that "the Thirty
Years' War began today").
Danto compares narrative and scientific explanation
and explores the legitimacy of historical laws. He also argues that history is
an autonomous and humanist discipline incapable of being reduced to scientific d
escriptions. Lydia Goehr's new introduction illustrates Danto's main arguments b
y questioning her very role, first, as an introducer of a book that has not yet
been read by readers and, second, as an interpreter of a book written forty year
s ago.
