2000/03/31 by Christopher Torr · 2 citations
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · #Economic Theory and Institutions #Interpretation (philosophy) #Term (time) #Culmination #Epistemology #Philosophy #History #Positive economics #Economics #Linguistics #Physics
paper · pdf · doi:10.4102/sajems.v3i1.2598
openalex publication_date 2000/03/31 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
In economics, as in other disciplines, one often comes across the term "Whig" or its derivatives. One will find, for example, a particular account being branded as whiggish. Butterfield, who was a historian, introduced the idea of a Whig interpretation of history in 1931. Since then the term has usually been used to classify an approach which views the present as the culmination of a march of progress. This paper provides a brief background to the origin of the term and why Butterfield criticised what he called the Whig interpretation of history.