In Hegel’s time, to which two spheres were historical writings limited, with which he was not…

Hegel's philosophy bridged the chasm separating Christian scholars and secular philosophers. He provided enough God to satisfy liberal Christians and an emphasis on reason that appeased the rationalists. In the process, he established paradigms that swept through academia. His macro-historical approach widened the sphere of historical studies. It illustrated the benefits of expanding the studies that had hitherto been limited to biographical and political works, and the possibilities in social history were avidly accepted by the next generation of historians, including Karl Marx. Efforts were made to link separate histories into an all-encompassing world history. Hegel's division of history into four great epochs, the Oriental, the Greek, the Roman and the German, convinced many historians that different eras and cultures were fundamentally dissimilar and had to be evaluated within their own contexts and in recognition of the specific needs of that age. Hegel's insistence that motives often differed from those professed led to a more critical appraisal of source materials. Actions, motives and repercussions were increasingly scrutinized for consistency, and causal relationships became more and more important. The dialectic model had less immediate impact, but in later generations it has become a staple tenet in many historical interpretations.