Dawson and Historical Systems

"Dawson argues that the Catholic interpretation of history is unique in being able to deal easily with the unexpected and the unpredictable in history. This is something that the rationalist continually has difficulty with, because, as Dawson says, 'He is always looking for neat systems of laws and casual sequences from which history can be automatically deduced.' Dawson responds to such a thinker: 'But history is impatient of all such artificial constructions. . . It allows the whole world situation to be suddenly transformed by the action of a single individual like Mohammed or Alexander.' Thus, Dawson clearly respects the role of the free individual and the hidden secrets often underlying history that remain unexplained in human terms." Joseph Stuart, The University Bookman, Volume 42, 2002.