# Is there a name for this fallacy of historical writing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 13, 2007, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-fallacy-of-historical-writing/415434 "2007-08-13T14:55:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Key\_Lime\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/48db29/32.png) [@Key\_Lime\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Key_Lime_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-fallacy-of-historical-writing/415434/1 "2007-08-13T14:55:29Z")
Erroneously applying today’s values or newly developed knowledge to judge past events. (not a great) example: a writer calls the medieval builders ‘primitive’ because they used trial-and-error, and many cathedrals collapsed under construction. Who has theorized about this problem, and does it have a name? I hope this isn’t too vague. Thanks in advance. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-fallacy-of-historical-writing/415434/2 "2007-08-13T15:03:26Z")
Using modern values to judge history is called “presentism”. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-fallacy-of-historical-writing/415434/3 "2007-08-13T15:03:50Z")
[QUOTE=Key Lime Guy] Erroneously applying today’s values or newly developed knowledge to judge past events. (not a great) example: a writer calls the medieval builders ‘primitive’ because they used trial-and-error, and many cathedrals collapsed under construction. Who has theorized about this problem, and does it have a name? I hope this isn’t too vague. Thanks in advance. [/QUOTE] I think this can be called “anachronistic” thinking. I see the [Wikipedia article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anachronism) on anachronism has a section labled “Scholarship” which confirms this. -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-fallacy-of-historical-writing/415434/4 "2007-08-13T15:41:50Z")
I have noticed it’s very common. One of the hardest things for people to understand is that people in the past _thought_ differently from us. Certainly “anachronistic thinking” covers the issue. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-fallacy-of-historical-writing/415434/5 "2007-08-14T08:22:25Z")
Look at the Wikipedia entries for chronological snobbery, presentism, historian’s fallacy, and whig history for a group of similar fallacies. I’m not sure which best describes what you’re talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-fallacy-of-historical-writing/415434/6 "2007-08-14T08:27:53Z")
Outside the halls of learning, of course, this is just called “20/20 hindsight.”