RT Article
T1 The Historian (of Religions) as Detective
JF e-Rhizome
VO 1
IS 2
SP 113
OP 131
A1 Martin, Luther H.
LA English
PB Palacky University Olomouc
YR 2019
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1839412992
AB Since my graduate school days, I have been interested in the philosophy of history, especially in historiographical methods. And, I have long been intrigued by the proposition that such methods are also represented by those of detectives (e.g., Robin Winks 1969), particularly, the detectives of fiction. However, it was only with my retirement that I began extensively to read detective novels and, given my historical field of Graeco-Roman religions, I was especially interested in those of Lindsey Davis about Marcus Didius Falco, a "private informer," that are set in the first-century Roman Empire. What might be the historiographical value of such novels, if any? This question was intensified by the recent argument of philosopher Alex Rosenberg (2018) that historical narratives are no more trustworthy than fiction. Consequently, I reflect, in this article, on the historical value both of historical narratives and of historical fiction.
K1 Alex Rosenberg
K1 Lindsey Davis
K1 Lisa Zunshine
K1 theory of mind
K1 Detectives
K1 historical narratives
K1 historical-detective stories
K1 Historiography
K1 literary stories
DO 10.5507/rh.2019.006