History as an Ethical Craft — A Study of Ethical Reasons in the Explanation of Historical Acts

Ethical reasoning is inherent in human action and therefore essential to the explanation of historical acts. The ethical nature of the acts should not be restricted to _ex post facto_ judgment in terms of consequential ethics but studied as the actor’s motivation. Motivational ethics serve to make sense of the actor’s decision. This article applies systematic textual analysis to expose the ethical reasoning of the authors of elected history textbooks. The ethical meanings are attributed by the authors to historical narratives within the frames of ethically resonating concepts, that is, values and norms. The values and norms are definable as dimensions, like heroism – villainhood, humanity – inhumanity and loyalty – betrayal as examples. Analysis of the textbooks’ presentations shows that ethical reasoning is a rational element in historical explanation. Educationally, ethical judgment of historical acts promotes students’ ethical consciousness and ability to make intellectually honest distinctions between ethically tenable and untenable human acts.