Continuity and Discontinuity, Change and Duration: Hoboes' Riddle of the Theseus and the Diversity of Historical Logics

Abstract

Continuity and change in the narration of historical events are problematic concepts. Thomas Hobbes presented their complexity in his riddle of the ship Theseus (1655). He argued against “one objective history” by illustrating how wholly differing visions of what constituted continuity or discontinuity in a state of affairs could be factually justified. The recent national standards in historical thinking, articulated by the National Center for History in the Schools, ask students to demonstrate their comprehension of continuity and change in the construction of historical narratives. This essay unpacks these concepts with the help of a revision of Hobbes's Theseus riddle so that teachers can more exactly comprehend their implications. More importantly, this essay offers methods for discerning the differing understandings of continuity and change that students can bring to their interpretation of a state of affairs, and pedagogical suggestions for teaching history within the compass of multiple objectivities.