The Science of History: A Comprehensive Examination of Its Definition, Methodology, Approaches, and Philosophical Dimensions

History, a multifaceted and dynamic discipline, forms the bedrock of humanity's endeavor to understand its past. Conceptually, "history" refers both to the totality of human and social events that have occurred in the past—the lived past—and to the scientific discipline that studies this lived past, thus possessing a dual meaning. This dual meaning clearly demonstrates that history is not merely a collection of facts, but also a rigorous scientific discipline that meticulously examines, interprets, and makes sense of these facts. Positioned within the social sciences, history relies on the examination of past events or documents and data related to them. A fundamental principle of historical science is that the past, if not based on documents or supported by valid sources, cannot be considered a scientific subject. This principle underscores the empirical and evidence-based nature of historical knowledge.

The etymology of the word "history" also offers significant clues about the nature of this discipline. Its counterparts in Western languages (Latin: Historia, Italian: Storia, French: Historie, English: History, German: Historie) are derived from the Greek "Istoria." In the Ionian dialect, this word meant "to report," "to acquire knowledge through hearing," while in the Attic dialect, it meant "to know by seeing, as a witness," and was used in broader senses (physics, geography, astronomy, natural science). Furthermore, the word "history" being rooted in the Semitic "v-r-h" root, meaning "the date of the moon," indicates its dimension of determining and establishing the time of an event and expressing the moment of its occurrence. This etymological journey reveals that history, from its inception, was perceived as an activity of "inquiry," "research," and "time determination," gradually evolving into a written account and documented knowledge, and eventually becoming a scientific discipline. This process demonstrates history's evolution from a simple narrative to an effort to produce rational and evidence-based knowledge.

The science of history is considered the memory of a nation; just as memory is vital for an individual, it is equally crucial for a nation. A nation's past existence, cultural heritage, and memories that have reached the present are preserved and transmitted through history. Language, literature, and everything falling under the concept of general culture have developed throughout history and have been inherited from generation to generation. In this context, history plays a fundamental role in the formation of collective identity and the assurance of cultural continuity. History, as knowledge of the past compiled with a rational method based on documents, is a whole composed of human actions and, in its broadest sense, the common work of all humanity.

The discipline of history is defined as a science that continuously moves and progresses in the development process of society. It is stated that the goal towards which one progresses in the future only begins to take shape as this progress continues, and its interpretation becomes clearer as one advances. This indicates that history not only serves to understand the past but also possesses a dynamic function in shaping the future. However, a warning is issued that when history deviates from scientific methodology, it can transform into a mere collection of heroic events that only provide emotional pleasure, thereby departing from its intended mission. Such a deviation can also alter the direction of the vision it aims to create in individuals of society. This observation highlights how vital the preservation of history's scientific integrity is for a society to construct its identity and future in a healthy manner. The purpose of history is to be useful, to increase experience and knowledge, and to make humanity successful. The fundamental condition for achieving this goal is to adhere strictly to the truth. This strategic societal role of history further increases historians' responsibility to maintain scientific impartiality and accuracy in their work.

History, by its nature, is considered within the social sciences and benefits from many auxiliary disciplines. Among these auxiliary sciences, Philology (linguistics) assists historical science in translating and examining ancient sources; Numismatics studies ancient coins, and Heraldry examines coats of arms, seals, titles, and flags, providing valuable contributions to historical research. These disciplines provide essential tools for understanding and verifying historical sources.

The modern understanding of history has been compelled to deeply understand societies while answering the "why" and "how" questions of events. This necessity has required historians to utilize sciences such as Philosophy, Sociology, and Economics. Philosophy offers an analytical perspective to the historian by opening avenues for correct thinking, while Sociology uses history as a laboratory and functions as an analytical method, especially in answering the "why" question. Economics, on the other hand, provides arguments for the historian to understand the basic needs motives in human sociological movements and the societal impacts of economic decisions.

The relationship of the discipline of history with other sciences has deepened and become more complex over time. Particularly, approaches such as the Annales School, which emerged in the 20th century, adopted a holistic understanding of history by examining it not only from a philosophical or economic determinist perspective but also from many demographic (population science), geographical, climate-based, linguistic, cultural, and anthropological angles. This school adopted a problem-oriented analysis instead of the event-oriented approach of traditional historiography and placed great importance on interdisciplinary cooperation. Annales historians expanded the scope of historical work with the participation of researchers from different scientific fields and developed an approach that encompasses all human activities.

Cultural History, adopting a different method from the general understanding of history, established a special relationship with disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, geography, and psychology, focusing on examining the psycho-social dimension of events. Similarly, Social History also benefits from sociology and anthropology. Peter Burke states that history and sociology have always been side by side; he defines sociology as a social science that makes generalizations about the structure and development of human society, while he views history as the study of human societies in the plural. This increasing interdisciplinary integration reveals the inherent complexity and holistic structure of modern historical research. Historians are no longer limited to traditional source-based research but are seen to be trying to understand the past more comprehensively and multi-dimensionally by using the methodologies and theoretical frameworks of different scientific fields. This situation leads to the enrichment of historical knowledge, while also requiring historians to possess a broader set of knowledge and analytical skills.

The methodology of historical science is shaped in accordance with the unique qualities of historical information and historical research methods. This indicates that methodology is a field of knowledge derived from the nature of historical knowledge and is in a close relationship with its epistemological foundations. A complete and exhaustive restoration of the past is essential for history to be written. This restoration process is carried out by classifying and interpreting sources according to a specific hierarchy of importance, which is the historian's primary working method. However, this "restoration" is not a simple act of recalling the past; rather, it involves an active construction of historical knowledge, as historical data are often fragmented, incomplete, or potentially biased.

According to Collingwood, historical science is a science with its own unique methods. The historian's primary goal is to discover the thought processes behind events; indeed, Collingwood used the phrase "All history is the history of thought." The external aspect of events is of great importance because it allows the historian to perceive the agent's thought. This approach emphasizes that historical methodology is not merely about collecting facts, but also a deep effort to understand the human mentality, motivations, and cultural contexts behind these facts. The historian is an active agent who constructs a coherent narrative from fragmented evidence, rather than a passive instrument reflecting the past. This indicates that historical knowledge is a structure shaped by the historian's interpretive framework and reveals the decisive role of the historian's methodological choices and theoretical perspectives on the resulting historical narrative.

All kinds of information that the historian consults while conducting research activities and preparing their work constitute the sources of history. These sources form the basis of historical knowledge and are classified into different types: Written Sources (materials such as documents, inscriptions, chronicles, books, official memoranda, government documents, and diplomatic writings); Oral Sources (elements such as historical poems, stories, legends, myths, epics, hagiographies, anecdotes, and proverbs), however, it is emphasized that stories containing historical information gain source value only to the extent that they can be confirmed by other sources, and cannot be accepted alone; Remains (Archaeological Findings) (all kinds of material findings belonging to the period in which the historical event took place); and Drawn, Audio, and Visual Sources (visual and auditory materials such as maps, photographs, films, and sound recordings).

Sources are also divided into Primary (First-Hand) Sources and Secondary (Second-Hand) Sources according to their proximity to information: Primary Sources are sources written by individuals who witnessed historical events or periods, or direct findings belonging to that period. First-hand sources are extensively utilized in historical science. Interviews obtained and recorded through oral history methods are also considered primary source material. However, it should be remembered that not all first-hand sources are reliable. Secondary Sources are subsequent interpretations, analyses, or syntheses created based on primary sources.

Historical science deeply criticizes the sources it deals with, striving to gain comprehensive knowledge about the source from all aspects. Criticism is a method used first to understand, and then to determine the value of the source. Historians must be sure that a document or material has documentary value; therefore, it is necessary to conduct Internal and External Criticism. This represents a defense mechanism developed by the discipline against the inherent risks of deceptiveness and potential bias in historical evidence. External Criticism focuses on the physical and formal characteristics of the source, examining the basic introductory information about the work and the initial questions that come to mind. This includes determining the author's name, the date of writing, and the place of writing, as well as identifying the originality of the work and determining the best copy. Criticism of documents (Diplomatic Criticism) is also part of external criticism and aims to determine the authenticity, place of writing, and whether the decision in the document was implemented for archival materials. Internal Criticism, on the other hand, grades the accuracy of the information in the content of the material or document and reveals its realism. This criticism focuses on the reliability, impartiality, and accuracy of the information presented by the source.

This sophisticated system of verification and cross-referencing reflects a continuous effort within the discipline of history to enhance reliability. This demonstrates that historical knowledge is not merely a passive collection of facts, but that the historian's methodological choices and theoretical perspectives play a critical role in shaping the resulting historical narrative. Given that historical methodology constitutes a part of epistemology (theory of knowledge), practical research procedures are intertwined with philosophical questions about the nature of historical knowledge and how it can be acquired. Source criticism and methodological debates are not merely a technical exercise but an ongoing philosophical discussion about truth, evidence, and interpretation in historical research. This requires understanding how the philosophical assumptions and epistemological paradigms underlying historical methodology shape the practices of the discipline.

Historiography, or the writing of history, can manifest in different forms depending on how the historian perceives, interprets, and presents events. According to a generally accepted approach, historical writing occurs in three basic styles: narrative, description, and analysis. Narrative and description focus on the desire to recreate the past, while analysis aims to reinterpret the past. In Turkish historical methodology literature, a tripartite classification is generally adopted: narrative (rivayetçi), didactic (pragmatic), and cause-and-effect (research-oriented). This classification has been influenced by Bernheim's work and has become the defining terminology of Turkish historical literature over time. However, some additions have been made to this tripartite classification over time, leading to semantic differentiations. For example, Zeki Velidi Togan, in his work Tarihte Usül (Method in History), mentions four types of historical writing, including narrative, didactic, and şe'nî (?) writing, while Memiş lists journalistic, narrative, didactic (pragmatic), research-oriented, social, and materialist historiographies. This diversity indicates that historiography is not a monolithic practice but rather a dynamic field that has evolved with different periods and intellectual tendencies. New approaches, instead of replacing older ones, often add new layers to them, increasing the complexity of historical understanding.

Narrative historiography, contrary to popular belief, adopts a writing style that conveys accounts without adding interpretation to events. This style emerged in ancient Greece; at that time, memories passed down from generation to generation were recited in a poetic style (epos), which were later transcribed into prose by logographers. It has been defined by Çandarlı as a "referential, narrative, transmissive" style. This approach aims to transmit the past as it was.

Didactic history aims to draw lessons from past events and present a moral or political teaching to the reader. Its main purpose is to increase experience, multiply knowledge, and make people successful through history. The "Utilitarian or Didactic" understanding of history is derived from the French word "pragmatic." The religiously based understanding of history in the Middle Ages has also been discussed under this category. This type of historical writing positions the past as a guide for the future.

Research-oriented history is a style that deeply examines the causes and consequences of events, considering the social and economic structures, climate, and all other conditions of the period in terms of place and time, and narrating events simply without attributing them to a single cause. This approach emerged in the 19th century and emphasizes the multi-layered nature of historical events and complex cause-and-effect relationships. It heavily utilizes Sociology and Philosophy in answering "why" and "how" questions. The emergence of this approach represents an important step in the scientification and specialization process of historical writing. Historical research has evolved from simple chronological narratives to systematic investigations requiring specialized knowledge, analytical frameworks, and interdisciplinary tools.

Other styles of historical writing include General (Umumi) History and Special History. General history deals with a certain period in broad strokes without going into details, evaluating it as a whole; Special History, on the other hand, deals with a specific topic and examines it in depth by establishing cause-and-effect relationships. Social Historiography is a type of history written in a social style that believes that societal data gives rise to historical events and that there are historical laws hidden behind historical events. It examines the past conditions of the behaviors and products that constitute the social dimension of people living in a society. It focuses on everyday lifestyles and the world of daily life. "History from below" is also known, and the works of prominent representatives of the British school, George Ewart Evans and Paul Thompson, have focused on this field. It utilizes an interdisciplinary methodology from sciences such as sociology and anthropology. Materialist Historiography, on the other hand, believes that economic events form the basis of society and is closely linked to the Marxist understanding of history. Philosophical Historiography and Positivist Historical Understanding are also among the styles of historical writing.

Historiography, rather than being an impartial and value-free practice, is deeply intertwined with the social, political, and intellectual contexts in which it operates. Different approaches to historical writing reflect various societal values, ideological affiliations, and intellectual tendencies. What will be studied, how it will be studied, and for what purpose, are often influenced by current concerns, power dynamics, and the desire to shape collective memory or future societal orientations. This demonstrates the dynamic interaction of historical science with society and that historical narratives are not merely reflections of the past but active contributions to ongoing societal debates.

The philosophy of history is the philosophical study of history and its discipline, a term coined by the French philosopher Voltaire. In contemporary philosophy, a significant distinction has developed between speculative philosophy of history, which develops theories about the general meaning, purpose, or direction of history, and critical (analytic) philosophy of history, which examines the nature, methodology, and validity of historical knowledge. The philosophy of history focuses not directly on past events, but on the science of history and the historian's "act of knowing." It involves questioning how the historian knows the past, the possibilities of this knowledge, and the path the historian should follow. This indicates that the philosophy of history has a deep epistemological dimension.

Among the classical philosophical approaches, the Positivist understanding of history is nourished by Enlightenment thought and aimed to liberate people from tradition and religious dogmas, enabling them to act according to their own views and reason. This approach argues that science must be factual, logical, objective, critical, generalizing, and selective. The verifiability of scientific propositions and their being in a cause-and-effect relationship are of great importance. Positivism treats social phenomena objectively, just like in natural sciences, and follows an experimental path. It also accepts that there is accumulation and progress in science. Auguste Comte is considered the founder of positivism and put forward the thesis that human thought passes through theological, metaphysical, and positive stages. Other important representatives include Saint Simon, John Stuart Mill, Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim, and Ernst Mach. The positivist understanding of history has been criticized for sanctifying objectivity and reducing facts to measurable qualities by separating them from the processes surrounding them. Furthermore, its universalization of the method derived from physical science, proposing it as the sole scientific method for all other disciplines, has also been a subject of criticism.

The Marxist understanding of history is based on historical materialism and forms the ontological basis of humanity's relationship with nature and its sociality. This approach is a critical theory that foresees the historical examination of social structures, how they are constructed, and how they can be changed. It focused on the functioning and processes of capitalism, prioritized class conflict over interstate conflict, and viewed the state as a structure where class relations are intensified. Karl Marx is the most important representative of this approach. Members of the Frankfurt School (Neo-Marxist thought), Max Horkheimer, Theodor Adorno, Walter Benjamin, Herbert Marcuse, Erich Fromm, and Jürgen Habermas, also played important roles in the development of this critical theory. The Marxist understanding of history has been criticized for ignoring the dynamics of intra-societal class struggle and geopolitics, and for assuming an automatic process of supranationalization.

Hegel: According to Hegel, history is the development of the Spirit (Geist/Tin) manifesting in societies; Spirit is used synonymously with reason, substance, idea, and God. This indicates that Hegel constructed his Philosophy of History in an ideal-rationalist and teleological (purposive) structure. At the core of his philosophy lies the dialectical method, and he placed dialectics at the foundation of all life and reality. According to Hegel, individuals have importance and value within the whole; what truly exists is the whole, and the existence of the individual cannot be spoken of without the whole. The state is the actual reality of the objective moral idea, and the individual finds their substantial freedom when they are bound to the state. Absolute freedom will be realized after the fundamental goal is achieved. Hegel's views on history tend to trivialize individual action in the face of the whole. Thinkers like Karl Popper criticized Hegel's assumption of a state of legality in the historical field and the understanding that the future of history can be known, arguing that this could lead to totalitarianism in politics. According to Popper, Hegel's philosophy emphasizes a reductionist stance and offers homogenizing patterns.

Kant: Kant's philosophy establishes a strong connection between being human and history; what human existence is should be considered in the context of historicity. Kant defined his system of thought in two separate categories: theoretical reason (understanding the physical world and making generalizations) and practical reason. Dilthey agrees with Kant that one cannot go beyond experience in knowledge, but finds Kant's abstract a priori categories excessively abstract. Kant's philosophy of history, by addressing the progress of humanity and the formation of a universal concept of humanity, offers a perspective of social development beyond individual experiences.

These classical approaches (Positivism, Marxism, Hegel's and Kant's philosophies) represent fundamental philosophical disagreements about the nature of historical reality (objective facts, class struggle, unfolding of spirit, human reason) and the possibilities of historical knowledge. These different interpretations have led to the emergence of various historiographical practices and have formed the basis of theoretical debates within the discipline of history.

Among contemporary philosophical approaches, the Annales School emerged in France in the early 20th century as a reaction against traditional, event-oriented historiography. Key figures of this school, founded by Marc Bloch and Lucien Febvre, include Fernand Braudel, Georges Duby, Jacques Le Goff, and Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie. The most important feature of the Annales School is its complete dismantling of the technique of explaining history through individual and specific events, and its placement on a structural plane. Although influenced by Marxism, Bloch and Febvre, in their works, developed a holistic understanding of history by examining it not only from a philosophical or economic determinist perspective but also from many demographic, geographical, climate-based, linguistic, cultural, and anthropological angles.

Annales historiography replaced the traditional understanding of history, which consisted of events, with a problem-oriented analysis. They adopted an understanding of history that focused on the entirety of human activities, rather than a history focused on politics. They placed great importance on interdisciplinary cooperation, bringing together researchers from many different disciplines such as geographers, sociologists, economists, and political scientists. They used regressive and comparative methods and focused on long-term change issues (Braudel's concept of longue durée). Furthermore, the "history of mentalities" also falls within the sphere of influence of the Annales School. The Annales School influenced the historiography of Poland, England, and many other European states, as well as Turkey.

Cultural history adopted a different method from the general understanding of history. It points to a form of explanation that centers daily life and culture. With the culturalist approach, culture is absolutized against superstructures, and the universal, holistic, and central is replaced by the local, specific, and singular. Language is seen as the carrier of culture and thought. Cultural history establishes a close relationship with disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, geography, and psychology, examining the psycho-social dimension of events.

Important representatives of cultural history include the Swiss historian Jacob Burckhardt (considered one of the founders of cultural and art history with his study of Renaissance Civilization), Johan Huizinga (known for his work Homo Ludens, which emphasizes the role of play in culture), and Peter Burke (who has done important work on cultural history with his interdisciplinary approach).

Cultural History vs. Cultural Studies: Cultural Studies, as a multidisciplinary approach to culture, is important in terms of conceptualizing the concept of culture in line with the new questions it raises. The way culture is handled in traditional critical disciplines changes in Cultural Studies. Cultural Studies draws on the legacy of the Frankfurt School and its successors within the European intellectual tradition, but rejects this school's definitions of mass culture and passive audiences. It adopts an anthropological approach to analyze the relationship between dominant ideology and the working class. It is related to many different fields such as anthropology, sociology, economics, media and communication studies, and history. It has also been stated that Cultural Studies, in terms of its academic working style, has become ahistorical and asocial, focusing on everyday life culture.

Social history is a type of history that examines the past conditions of the behaviors and products that constitute the social dimension of people living in a society. It focuses on everyday lifestyles and the world of daily life; it examines topics such as demography, food, drink, techniques, energy sources, mining, money, cities, and trade. This approach, unlike traditional history that focuses on political and military events, is also known as "history from below," aiming to investigate the experiences of the lower classes of society and daily life. The works of prominent representatives of the British school, George Ewart Evans and Paul Thompson, have focused on this field.

Social history contributes to the development of skills such as critical thinking, creative thinking, communication, research, problem-solving, decision-making, using information technologies, observation, perceiving time and chronology, perceiving change and continuity, social participation, and empathy. It has an interdisciplinary methodology and benefits from sciences such as sociology and anthropology. Among the pioneers of sociology, names such as Auguste Comte, Harriet Martineau, Karl Marx, Herbert Spencer, Georg Simmel, Émile Durkheim, George Herbert Mead, and Max Weber have made significant contributions to the development of social history. Methodologically, it uses various research approaches, tools, and techniques such as laboratory experiments, field surveys, case studies, ethnographic research, and action research for qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis.

Postmodern ideas, which began to make their influence felt especially in art and literature from the last quarter of the 20th century, developed an understanding of skepticism against the discipline of history in the 1980s that fundamentally shook the profession of historiography. Postmodernism is a project of questioning the values taken from the individual by modern life, reaching out to what has been taken away, returning to existential sources, and trying to hold on in a disenchanted life. This school of thought, which blurs the sharp lines between history and literature, argues that historians, just like novelists, deal with the facts they choose in a textual integrity with the style and form they desire, and therefore the objectivity of the texts they narrate should be questioned. In response to the severe criticisms of postmodernists against the fundamental principles of the discipline of history, historians have embarked on the task of defending history rather than discussing its inherent structure. This has raised the question of whether the principles and methods of modern history should be changed. Postmodernism's challenge to historical objectivity emphasized that history is a matter of interpretation and argued that historical knowledge cannot be absolute and impartial. This led to the increasing importance of discourse, power relations, and multiple narratives in historiography.

Critical Theory can also be defined as a camouflage of Marxism or a Neo-Marxist concept, and it draws particularly on the legacy of the Frankfurt School (Max Horkheimer, Theodor Adorno, Walter Benjamin, Herbert Marcuse, Erich Fromm, Jürgen Habermas). Unlike traditional theory, it does not separate knowledge and action; it sees the researcher as part of the object being studied. One of its main starting points is the critique of the points and results reached in scientific knowledge; what is essential is the critique of the method. Critical theory considers a theory critical to the extent that it can liberate the individual from the environment and status quo it is in, and the effect it creates on the individual when examining it.

Critical theory is based on the idea of "writing the history of the present"; this aims to show that the current situation has not always been this way, and thus how and why it might be different in the future. It offers a critical form of history that sets aside the transcendent subject, clarifies the establishment of the subject within the historical fabric, and can explain the establishment of discourses, knowledge, and object domains. It questions how categories such as class, race, gender, production relations, identity, and subjectivity gained a fundamental status, and asks historians to approach historical research and historiography with a critical attitude. After this period (after 1933), very important historical events began to influence the works of theorists. Michel Foucault is not interested only in statements accepted as true in a particular field of knowledge; rather, he tries to reveal the discursive rules that make possible the formation of groups of statements that can be true or false. He tried to analyze power relations through discourses, not through linguistic forms, which placed him outside the modernist stance. According to Foucault, historical texts are discursive. He states that power derives its strength from knowledge and advocates fighting against the individualizing and totalizing effects of modern power, i.e., forms of subjection. He states that with the change in the discourse of power in the postmodern era, power has also transformed from a physical dimension into a different version. Jacques Derrida (Deconstruction) implied that archives cannot be seen as neutral structures that carry the past to the present. He argues that archives are active structures that select and filter historical events within their classification system; they determine what will be remembered and what will be forgotten for this very reason. He states that historical writing with an absolute claim to objectivity through documents is impossible, as documents can only reflect a certain aspect of historical events and facts. He emphasizes that every document carries the traces of the context in which it was produced. According to Derrida, writing is a form of archiving activity and carries the traces of the past, but when re-read in the future, it is open to all the influences of the present time. Deconstruction consists not of moving from one concept to another, but of reversing and displacing a conceptual order as well as the non-conceptual order in which the conceptual order is articulated. It involves an intervention aimed at transforming social, institutional, and political contexts from within social and cultural reality and points to the desire to produce performative "events." The approaches of Critical Theory, Foucault, and Derrida have challenged the traditional understanding of objectivity, revealing power relations, discursive structures, and the non-neutrality of archives. This has led to the adoption of a more critical and self-reflective approach in historiography, enabling the questioning of fundamental categories and emphasizing the constructed nature of historical narratives.

Memory studies, which began after a significant change and transformation in the field of social sciences from the last quarter of the twentieth century, have gained a central position in academic and cultural studies as an alternative to the classical understanding of history. Memory studies, unlike the positivist or document-based modernist understanding of science, offer a human-centered perspective and are used as a tool to analyze many disciplines and arts.

Memory studies separate collective memory from history; history is outside the space where the thought of living groups resides, and to look at history, one must stand outside it. Social memory, on the other hand, keeps the past alive in the present by building a bridge. If history is objectivity in the harshest and most emotionless sense of the word, then memory is subjectivity in its most intimate and appealing sense. Memory is defined as a diverse and variable collection of material remains and social practices, rather than an individual mental attribute. While memories were considered unreliable sources for determining historical facts in the 19th century, the discourse of memory has shown a significant rise over time.

The rise of memory studies has also found its place in curricula, especially in courses aimed at introducing students to cultural trauma and memory studies. These studies have focused on the historical representation of major traumas such as the Holocaust and their place in collective memory. Memory, as a belated response to the great traumas of modernity, emphasizes the return of the repressed. It can also function as a form of "counter-history" against exclusionary "History" and is considered a beneficial feature of decolonization.

However, memory studies have been criticized for blurring the boundaries between individual psychological trauma and collective memory, pathologizing historical research, and risking a slide into "therapeutic" or "mystical" interpretations. The potential for memory to be instrumentalized for ethnic or racial nationalism is also among the topics of discussion. The transformative role of memory studies in historical narrative has challenged the traditional objective understanding of history, bringing to the forefront the subjective, collective, and trauma-oriented dimensions of the past. This has led to a re-evaluation of historical truth, an emphasis on the emotional, cultural, and political dimensions of remembering, and an understanding of the constructed nature of collective memory.

In conclusion, the science of history, as a dual-meaning concept referring both to the totality of human and social events in the past and to the discipline that studies these events, has evolved from its origins as an activity of "inquiry" and "time determination." This evolution demonstrates that the discipline has progressed from a simple narrative to a rigorous scientific endeavor of producing evidence-based, rational, and meticulous knowledge. History's role as the memory of a nation and its strategic function in shaping societal vision reveal that it is more than just an academic pursuit; it is a cornerstone of collective identity and cultural continuity. In this context, the responsibility of historians to maintain scientific integrity emerges as a societal necessity against the manipulation of history.

The methodology of historical science emphasizes the constructive nature of historical knowledge; historical knowledge is actively reconstructed from fragmented and potentially biased evidence. Source criticism, particularly internal and external criticism mechanisms, provides a sophisticated system continuously developed to enhance the reliability of historical evidence and mitigate potential biases. This methodological rigor strengthens history's position as a science while also revealing its epistemological foundations and the philosophical dimensions of its knowledge production processes.

Historiography exhibits a wide range of diversity, from narrative accounts to cause-and-effect research, and to social and cultural history. This diversity indicates that historical writing has undergone a non-linear, cumulative evolution and has been influenced by social, political, and intellectual contexts of different periods. The process of scientification and specialization in historical writing has increased interdisciplinary integration, requiring historians to possess a broader set of knowledge and analytical skills. This demonstrates that historical narratives are not merely reflections of the past but active contributions to current societal debates.

Contemporary philosophical approaches, especially postmodernism, critical theory, and memory studies, have fundamentally challenged the traditional understanding of historical objectivity. While postmodernism questions claims of absolute truth by viewing history as a textual construct, Critical Theory, with the contributions of Foucault and Derrida, has deeply examined the context in which historical knowledge is produced by exposing power relations, discursive structures, and the non-neutrality of archives. Memory studies, on the other hand, have brought to the forefront the subjective, emotional, and trauma-oriented dimensions of the past by emphasizing the transformative role of individual and collective memory in historical narrative. These approaches have moved the discipline of history into a more critical, self-reflective, and inclusive domain by emphasizing the multi-layered, interpretive, and constructed nature of historical truth.

In summary, the science of history is a constantly evolving, methodologically rigorous, and philosophically profound field for understanding, interpreting, and learning from the past. The effort to address the complexity of the past in a multifaceted way has necessitated interdisciplinary collaboration and has shown that historical knowledge is not just a factual accumulation but an active construction of social memory, identity, and future vision. Current approaches to history continuously redefine the dynamic and contested nature of historical knowledge by questioning not only what the past was, but also how it is known, by whom, and for what purposes.

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