阿克顿史学思想初探

Preliminaries on Lord Acton's History Thinking

阿克顿勋爵是19世纪英国最著名的史学家之一。他认为,人类社会的历史是一部自由史,道德法则是最终的历史评判标准,确定性和超然性是历史研究不可或缺的原则。他的思想超越了同时代的史家。但由于对史料的过分重视阻碍了他取得应有的学术成就,对于道德标准的执着使得他把复杂的历史过程看得过于简单化了。

Lord Acton is the greatest one of English history is essentially a history of liberty, a triumph of historians in 19th century. According to him,human moral law that is a final historical criterion. To historians, facticity and transcendency are two absolutely necessary principles. Acton＇s thought of history exceded any historian＇s in his contemporaneity. But his viw of historical data baffled the achievement that he should achieve. Rigid moral standards made him simplify the complicated process of history.