Surveying a gap: A Philosophical Perspective on Historians' Responses to Discourses on the 'Bystanders'

TY - JOUR

T1 - Surveying a gap

T2 - A Philosophical Perspective on Historians' Responses to Discourses on the 'Bystanders'

AU - Brudholm, Thomas

PY - 2005

Y1 - 2005

N2 - Historians have bemoaned the existence of a gap separating historical study and public interest in the topic of the ‘bystanders'. Moralistic tendencies and emotional excess have been pointed to as part of the explanation of the problem. This article turns the critical perspective back upon the historians and argues that there is more to morality and emotion than is often acknowledged by historians. If this was recognised, the article suggests, it could contribute to a lessening of the tensions sometimes arising when historians meet their public. The article also considers the concept of the ‘bystander' and the relationship between the disciplines of history and philosophy in relation to the study of the Holocaust.

AB - Historians have bemoaned the existence of a gap separating historical study and public interest in the topic of the ‘bystanders'. Moralistic tendencies and emotional excess have been pointed to as part of the explanation of the problem. This article turns the critical perspective back upon the historians and argues that there is more to morality and emotion than is often acknowledged by historians. If this was recognised, the article suggests, it could contribute to a lessening of the tensions sometimes arising when historians meet their public. The article also considers the concept of the ‘bystander' and the relationship between the disciplines of history and philosophy in relation to the study of the Holocaust.

M3 - Journal article

SN - 1359-1371

VL - 11

SP - 1

EP - 23

JO - Holocaust Studies: A Journal of Culture and History

JF - Holocaust Studies: A Journal of Culture and History

IS - 3

ER -