''Plausible Worlds: Possibility and Understanding in History and the Social Sciences'' is a 1991 book by Geoffrey Hawthorn, professor of

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. The book is credited with legitimizing the academic field of

counterfactual history Counterfactual history (also virtual history) is a form of historiography that attempts to answer the ''wikt:what if, What if?'' questions that arise from counterfactuals, counterfactual conditions. Counterfactual history seeks by "conjecturing ...

. The book explores three points of divergence: the

Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...

, the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, and the influence of

Duccio Duccio di Buoninsegna ( , ; – ), commonly known as just Duccio, was an Italian painter active in Siena, Tuscany, in the late 13th and early 14th century. He was hired throughout his life to complete many important works in government and religi ...

References

1991 non-fiction books Cambridge University Press books Historiography {{hist-book-stub