historical school

noun

a school of 19th century German economists and legal philosophers who tried to explain modern economic systems in evolutionary or historical terms

• Hypernyms: ↑school

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noun

1. : a school of economics developed in Germany in the middle of the 19th century that emphasizes institutional factors in society and pursues a systematic investigation of the development of economic institutions — compare classical 3b(3)

2. : a school of legal philosophy that emphasizes the relation of the evolution of law to the historical milieu and minimizes the importance of arbitrary human action and of natural processes to its development

3. : a school of ethnology that emphasizes empirical study of the historical continuity of a specific culture or culture area as contrasted with comparative study of diverse or related cultures or culture areas

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1. a school of economists that arose in Germany in the 19th century in reaction to the principles of the classical economists, and that maintained that the factors making up an economy are variable and develop out of social institutions.

2. Law. the school of jurists who maintain that law is not to be regarded so much as resulting from commands of sovereigns as from historical and social circumstances.

[1890-95]

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historical school noun

Those scholars, esp in the fields of economics, legal philosophy and ethnology, who emphasize historical circumstance and evolutionary development in their researches and conclusions

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Main Entry: ↑history

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historical school,

1. a group of economists, first prominent in Germany in the 1800's, who advocate (in opposition to the classical economists) the historical method, or the deduction of economic principles from a study of the past.

2. the school of jurisprudence which affirms that law is the outgrowth of usage based upon the instinctive sense of right, instead of being created by rules.