Norbert Elias’ ‘Empirical Philosophy of History’

The aim of this study is to delve into the essence and characteristics of the empirical philosophy of history of the Jewish German sociologist Norbert Elias, which has not received much attention or research. As a result of the study, the following have been confirmed. (1) First, Elias’s unique concepts of ‘history’ and ‘time’ gain attention. He understood history as a process in which individuals are combined through specific ideas while living within society. In other words, a ‘figuration’ is created through the interaction between the individual and the idea, and history is ultimately a dialectical process in which this figuration is formed. Time is also a means of direction in society and a means of regularization in the common life of humans. (2) Based on these two concepts, Elias created his own unique ‘empirical philosophy of history.’ To him, history is an empirical science in that it studies events that actually occurred at a specific point in time. However, at the same time, history is also a principle science in that it explores ideas as a source of individual facts. Moreover, he understood history not as a process of chance but as an ordered system with a unique meaning structure. In that respect, he defined history as philosophy, especially the philosophy of history. (3) Elias’ empirical philosophy of history, which was created in this way, can be usefully utilized in many ways in today’s historical academia. Above all, ‘historical sociology’ or ‘process sociology’, which was created based on the concept and principles of ‘figuration’ that he introduced to structure past facts, has already had a significant impact on historical academia and continues to be studied or used today. Above all, it helps to study past events using the analytical framework of specific ideas and structures of that era. In addition, the many concepts, ideas, approaches, principles, and methods that Elias developed in his philosophy of history can provide practical help to today’s historians.