Of Braudel's Framework of Time

According to Fernand Braudel, events can be separated in three categories: factual, conjectural and structural (also short, medium and long-term processes).  It can be metaphorically compared to sea's depth. Facts are the waves on the surface; thousands of them, most of them are insignificant, but overwhelmingly active. Deeper below we can find a less active level, that affects and is affected by its proximity with the surfacing events. Meeting seabed we find the lowest level of activity, but the most influential one. As deep and thick as it is, changes in surface have to be incredibly strong to really make any interference.

In the way Braudel elaborated this framework, short-term processes involve political and individual events, medium-term processes involve social and economical changes and long-term processes involve geological and environmental conditions. Historical studies use this system to visualize the importance of events (the three-level framework encompass only the first two level of the original framework). They consider the factual level the journalists' area, whereas historians have to understand conjectures and structures (the rise of capitalism in early modern history is one example of structure). I can use Braudel's Framework to my own life (only a short-lived wave in the sea of time). Of course, I think I should be working on how the cultural conjectures and zeitgeists influence me, but I'm going to deal with a more psychological and introspective approach.

In a factual level I my thoughts and emotions are everchanging (trusting them give chance to mermaids and overall dysrationalia to rule over things I say). In the conjectural level I find an increasingly invisible overlay that affects and is affected by low-key events. To be unveiled, it just needs observation, introspection, reflection and study. And the deeper I go, the more knowledgeable I have to get to be aware of these high-key elements of my identity.

In this blog I don't want to explore short-term events (this is no twitter). The depth of my exploration involves conjectures and as below as the pressure (sanity) allows me. As historical studies go, the study of medium and long-term processes is fundamental to understand short-term ones (specially tendencies of behavior).