Epistemological uncertainty of history

The article deals with the evolution of methodological consciousness of historians in the 19-20th century. It presents the change of research strategies caused by substituted philosophical beliefs. The originality and relevance of the methodological conception of A.S. Lappo-Danilevsky is revealed. The authors study the development of the methodology of history and epistemology of history in different cognitive communities since 1940s - namely by the historians and epistemologists of history. The paper analyzes the reasons of various understanding of historical objectivity and the methods of explanation by K. Hempel and U. Drem. The epistemologists I. Berlin, G.H. Vrigt, E. Nagel helped to give the ample description of the conditions and means of cognitive activity in historical science. The authors reveal the "Gap" between the historians' perceptions of historical reality, specifics of historical work and the methods of the historical research and how epistemologists who study the methodological consciousness estimate the evolution of historical methodology and the tendency in historical disciplines...