Spaces of the historical science

Historical knowledge is impossible without space which is one of the historical science coordinates. Space is not readily conceivable if it is unrelated to time though this relationship is quite contradictory. Time is a period during which an object becomes different while space is characterized by sameness of objects and conditions. On the other hand, space combines into an indivisible configuration with time therefore we cannot consider the category of space, especially the socio-historical space, ignoring temporal relations. Nowadays there are a number of conceptions concerning the interrelation of time and space. According to modern philosophy, which traditionally regards the historical process as a single whole, socio-historical time is primary with respect to space of the same kind: it dominates the space or even forms it. Socio-historical time in this case acts as an organizing center that integrates numerous local cultures. The basic idea of postmodern philosophy is cultural pluralism where the category of space becomes dominant rather than that of time. It is also necessary to note the position expressed by the philosophical concepts of Husserl, Heidegger and others which gave rise to the so-called space-time. In view of a change in conceiving the relationship between time and space, this category needs to be better comprehended. Several researchers supporting the idea of time primacy see the specificity of historical space in its close connection with time: historical space is viewed as a stopped motion of single time or its "section". Against this background we can remark what features the societies have in common in different epochs and recognize the differences. But in the "new" understanding historical space acts as a primary thing. Its "historicity" appears only in designation of various processes in a specified territory. The basic concept here is the notion of "territory" which includes a variety of processes. Time-dependent socio-historical space fixes chronological periods of time while the "new" historical space acquires such properties as impermanence and mobility. It can either expand or shrink or even mismatch the territory of a state. Besides the socio-historical space it is necessary to involve the concepts of "natural space" and "geographical space" which act as a human habitat and partially determine historical peculiarities of a society. Though socio-historical space possesses the features characteristic to the spaces it interacts with, it however has a peculiarity that distinguishes the socio-historical space from other kinds of spaces. This peculiarity is a special dimension - retrospective, which is, according to some researchers, the only condition of existence in this space. Retrospective is the fifth dimension distinguishing socio-historical space from four-dimensional spaces in the physical world. Thus, the peculiarities of socio-historical space are its social constituent, its relation to time and retrospective.

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