Whig historiography of the 19th century as a case of teleological thinking: analysis within the framework of cognitive historiography

The subject of the study is the Whig historiography of the 19th century, viewed as a complex phenomenon with political, cultural, historical, cognitive, and other layers. Whig history is analyzed based on the proposals and concepts of a little-known school of cognitive historiography in domestic science. This school suggests analyzing historical events through the lens of psychological concepts, aiming both to test the concepts themselves and to provide a deeper and more developed analysis of the historical events. The focus is primarily on the teleologization of the historical process—a key characteristic of Whig history. The article identifies the cognitive mechanisms underlying the teleologization of the past as manifested in Whig history. This approach allows us to view the Whig tradition not merely as an ideological project but as a representative example of certain thinking patterns. Thus, the study focuses on the teleologization of the past carried out within the framework of Whig historiography and its significance from the perspective of cognitive historiography. The methodology of the research is interdisciplinary, combining historiographical analysis with the conceptual apparatus of cognitive psychology through the application of the little-studied school of cognitive historiography. The scientific novelty lies in the proposed approach, which allows us to view Whig history through the prism of a new school for Russian science. The article suggests considering Whig teleology as a result of the influence of several standard thinking functions. The main conclusion of the study is that Whig history was not merely a result of ideological setups or the authors' pursuit of personal gain. Instead, it proposes a perception in which intrinsic thinking setups played a crucial role, fundamentally affecting the Whigs and their viewpoints and approaches. Teleological thinking appears as a persistent mechanism of cognitive and cultural nature that can be analyzed through its manifestations. This approach is applied to Francis Fukuyama's concept of the End of History to demonstrate similarities between his concept and Whig history.