What is the difference between the Linear and Cyclical View of
History?

The first day of winter, winter solstice, or the day of the year where there are the fewest hours of daylight in the day in the northern hemisphere is, in fact, a cycle. When we assign a date or time to it, it is an example of linear time. If we think of it in terms of solstices and equinoxes, it is cyclic time.

Explanation:

When we think about historical events, most people assume a linear flow of causality. We say, “this happened and that caused something else to happen.” This linear view of history is the default mode of narrating the past

a sociophilosophical concept according to which the periodicity of history is based on the repetition or recurrence of social processes. Cyclical theories thus contributed to the development of the comparative historical method in the social sciences.