Abstract
A new characterization of historical thought which could prove adequate for both historians and philosophers begins with the raw materials of historical inquiry. The approach delineates what modes of thought historians apply to the artifacts which they consider evidence. History, here, is defined as the attempt to give veridical and logically adequate descriptions of change in human affairs. The term description, which refers to a verbal imitation of reality, raises several questions concerning the conceptual limitations, validity, and internal coherence of historical interpretation. There are two modes of historical description. The synchronic mode assumes a nonchanging structure of thought and behavior which is inferred from the text itself. The diachronic mode is an anachronistic form which assumes change and draws on modes of understanding from outside the text. From the latter we can define a model of reality.