Historians' Fallacies: Toward a Logic of Historical Thought

David Hackett Fischer

New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1970; Pages: 338

I am not a historian and after reading this compact, but not necessarily brief, exposé by Mr. Fischer, I am sure I don't want to be one, for it appears there is no way to write any sort of historical work without falling into at least one of the myriad of fallacies enumerated in this book. The author's brilliant and insightful prose leaves almost no historian intact, even the famous ones (and perhaps mostly the famous ones) come under attack for getting ensnared into the traps of logical deficiency. The book is very entertaining because of Mr. Fischer's sarcastic wit, but also because it reveals the author's immense erudition and it is always amusing when a learned person pokes fun at another.

The book is divided into three major parts on fallacies of inquiry, explanation, and argument. Each part consists of several chapters, each devoted to a particular group of the type. And finally, each chapter comprises subdivisions of specific fallacies, each explained and then illustrated with at least one example from some historian's published work. One may not agree with everything that Mr. Fischer has to say (e.g. his thoughts on the use of theory in historical research), but one should nevertheless read and re-read this book. Every time I write anything of extended length, I browse this little tome with some trepidation lest I find out I need a major revision of what I've written. However, it is always better to catch mistakes on your own, before you've made a fool of yourself in public. This book is most highly recommended.

May 15, 2001. BLS

@BOOK{fischer-70:fallacies,
    TITLE     = {istorians' Fallacies: Toward a Logic of Historical Thought},
    AUTHOR    = {David Hackett Fischer},
    YEAR      = {1970},
    PUBLISHER = {Harper Torchbooks},
    ADDRESS   = {New York},
    ISBN      = {0-06-131545-1},
    NOTE      = {Pp. 338}
}