November 27, 2024
Historical and Ethical Judgment
Chronicles simply recount facts, while
history interprets them in terms of their causes, effects, and meaning. However,
neither chronicles nor history pass ethical judgments.
The essential point is that ethical judgment depends on the values one adopts.
Therefore, when judging past events, we must consider the values of that time,
not our own—just as we cannot judge the present by the values of the past.
According to modern values, the Crusades may seem like crimes, but one must ask
whether, by the values of their time, they were not seen as just and necessary
actions. Similarly, we cannot judge the actions of Pope Francis using the
criteria of the Crusades era.