The Historical and the Non-Historical: The Impact of Historical Background on the Acceptance of Change and Modernity

Document Type : Research Article

Author

Sasan Tahmasbi

Assistant Professor, Department of History, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran

10.22067/jhistory.2026.99317.1452

Abstract

Humans are repositories of time, yet sharing the same historical experiences does not necessarily correlate with being influenced by those experiences in the same way. This difference has contributed to the formation of historical and non-historical societies. These are concepts that concern historical background and the degree to which societies are impacted by history. The study employs an analytical-inferential method and a historical-philosophical approach, and seeks to answer the following question: What is the factor behind the formation of historical and non-historical societies, and what impact does it have on these societies’ approaches to change and modernity? Findings suggest that overcoming nature, submitting to a system-building and model-making authority, the accumulation and durability of civilizational manifestations, and engagement with complex intellectual issues are the most important factors and prerequisites for the formation of historical societies. In contrast, a balanced relationship with nature, a life free from political control, an inability to generate and preserve manifestations of civilization or to indigenize its borrowed elements, and engagement with superficial challenges have prevented societies from entering the process of becoming historical. As a result, non-historical societies have remained young, while historical societies have undergone aging. This distinction leads to the resistance of historical societies to imposed modernity and the greater readiness of non-historical societies to embrace superficial modernity.

Keywords

Historical

Non-Historical

Civilization

Change

Modernity

Subjects

• Other

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