the Tribunal of History: Philosophy, Evidence, and Constitution Historical Judgment

"Truth is a broken mirror. Each person takes a fragment and mistakes it for the whole." - Attributed to Jalal al-Din RumiHistory is not given to us whole. It is constituted through interpretive acts governed by concepts whose authority is often presumed rather than examined.The Tribunal of History convenes Avicenna, Kant, Foucault, Hegel, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and al-Ghazālī as counsel in a constitutional court of reason. Each is granted a defined jurisdiction. None may claim sovereignty over the whole.Through evidence, cross-examination, rival explanation, and calibrated judgment, this book develops a rigorous method for determining what philosophical concepts may legitimately establish about historical objects-and where their authority must end.A major contribution to the philosophy of history and interdisciplinary method, this work offers a new foundation for inquiry in an age of totalizing theories and disciplinary fragmentation.