Which of the following statements best defines the discipline of world history as a way of studying the past? Group of answer choices History is a method of empirical inquiry that belongs in the same category of analysis as science, and looks to natural rather than supernatural causes to explain the human past. Historians must understand the past according to the teachings of their religious beliefs. The main purpose of history is to explain how and why modern peoples are more advanced and intelligent than ancient peoples. History represents a form of academic knowledge and can not consider the stories of mythology or religion when investigating the past.