肯和约翰在节目开始时——经常发生的事——弄清楚他们在说什么。历史只是事件的总和吗?或者说，桅杆是由过去的部分构成的吗?历史更像文学还是科学?

哲学记者报道后，丹尼尔加入了肯和约翰，他们讨论了历史上原因的性质。历史上有因果规律吗?什么是人为原因，什么是结构原因，真的有区别吗?考虑到每个事件都有许多相互交织的原因，历史学家如何选择将哪些原因包括在一个事件的历史研究中?

In the next section, Daniel, Ken, and John continue to explore the balance between individual human choices, structural causes, and contingent, chance happenings. Would Hitler have been able to start World War II without structural causes and chance happenings? Ken notes that structural causes seem to constrain, but not determine, what happens.

Ken and John then wonder how much we should look for patterns in history and narrate, rather than just report brute facts in history. Daniel points out that finding patterns in history does help us learn from the past. But how do we balance the need for narration with accuracy and comprehensiveness? Daniel defends the reputation and cause of academic history against accusations of unjust prejudice and bias.

在最后一部分，肯和约翰继续与丹尼尔讨论如何在正确获取事实和从历史中提取鼓舞人心的、有教育意义的故事之间取得平衡。丹尼尔强调了历史学家致力于严格标准和致力于证据的重要性，一位来电者认为，从过去学习意味着面对它，而不是粉饰它以寻找灵感。肯同意这一观点，但他提醒大家美国态度的价值，即我们不受约束地把自己解释为与过去犯过错误的人是“同一群人”。

• Roving Philosophical Report(seek to 6:00): Philosophy Talk’s roving philosophical reporter visits Presidio National Park in San Francisco, which has a new display on the relatively unknown war between the US and Philippines in 1900. She discovers how seemingly small remnants from the past help us uncover and understand large historical events.

• 60-Second Philosopher (seek to 49:50): Ian Shoales reports on Giovanni Battista Vico, influential author of ‘The New Science’. Vico took an unconventionally poetic approach to history, and encouraged us to remember that historical actors are not just rational thinkers, but people with virtues and vices