Analytical history

Abstract

The purpose of this note is to explain what is "analytical history", a modular and testable analysis of historical events introduced in a book published in 2002 (Roehner and Syme 2002). Broadly speaking, it is a comparative methodology for the analysis of historical events. Comparison is the keystone and hallmark of science. For instance, the extrasolar planets are crucial for understanding our own solar system. Until their discovery, astronomers could observe only one instance. Single instances can be described but they cannot be understood in a testable way. In other words, if one accepts that, as many historians say, "historical events are unique", then no testable understanding can be developed.