Abstract
This essay argues that, despite some obvious merits, 'narrativist' readings of Hayden White's philosophy of history are generally inadequate. It suggests that White's concept of narrative, his irony in matters of historical epistemology as well as his eagerness to challenge tropological conventions can better be understood as stemming from,a specific moral concern. Drawing on Metahistory in particular, the article shows that White's dissatisfaction with a historical profession studying the past 'for its own sake' reflects a strong commitment to moral reflection in an existentialist-humanist tradition. Worried over the 'acid rain' of professional historiography, White envisions a mode of historical thought favoring personal appropriations of the past, morally engaged interpretations and, above all, an individual confrontation with the 'meaninglessness' of historical reality.