Readings in Phil History Discussion and Activity

CHAPTER I:

INTRODUCTION TO HISTORY:
DEFINITION, ISSUES, SOURCES, AND
METHODOLOGY

ALDRIN P. CABAHUG
Instructor
DISCUSSION

 History was derived from the Greek word historia which means
“knowledge acquired through inquiry or investigation.”
 Historia became known as the account of the past of a person

or a group of people through written documents and historical
evidences.
 In simple terms, historiography is the history of history.
History and historiography should not be confused with
each other.
 The former’s object of study is the past, the events that
happened in the past in the past, and the causes of such
events.
 The latter’s object of study, on the other hand, is history
itself (i.e., How was a certain histotical text written? Who
wrote it? What was the context of its publication? What
particular historical method was employed? What were
the sources used?). Thus, historiography lets the students
have a better understanding of history.
 Positivism is the school of thought that emerged between
the eighteenth and nineteenth century. This thought
requires empirical and observable evidence before one can
claim that a particular knowledge is true.
 Positivism also entails an objective means arriving at a

conclusion.
 Positivist historians are also expected to be objective and

impartial not just in their arguments but also on their
conduct of historical research.
 Postcolonialism is a school of thought that emerged in
the early twentieth century when formerly colonized
nations grappled with the idea of creating their identities
and understanding their societies against the shadows of
their colonial past.
 Postcolonial history is therefore a reaction and an

alternative to the colonial history that colonial powers
created and taught to their subjects.
 The Annales School of History is a school of history born in
France that challenged the canons of history. This school of
thought did away with the common historical subjects that
were always related to the conduct of states and monarchs.
 Annales scholars studied the history of peasantry, the history

of medicine, or even the history of environment.
 They advocated that the people and classes who were not
reflected in the history of the society in the grand manner
be provided with space in the records of mankind.
 Annales thinkers married history with other disciplines

like geography, anthropology, archaeology, and
linguistics.
 Primary sources are those sources produced at the same
as the event, period, or subject being studied. For example,
if a historian wishes to study the Commonwealth
Constitution Convention of 193, his primary sources can be
include the minutes of the convention, newspaper
clippings, Philippine commission reports of the U.S.
Commissioners, records of the convention, the draft of the
Constitution, and even photographs of the event.
 Eyewitness accounts of convention delegates and their
memoirs can also be used as primary sources. Archival
documents, artifacts, memorabilia, letters, census, and
government records, among others are the most common
examples of primary sources.
 Secondary sources are those sources, which were
produced by an author who used primary sources to
produce the material. In other words, secondary sources
are historical sources, which studied a certain historical
subject.
 More than this, in writing a book, Agoncillo used primary

sources with his research like documents of the
Katipunan, interview with the veterans of the Revolution,
and correspondence between and among Katipuneros.
 External criticism is the practice of verifying the
authenticity of evidence by examining its physical
characteristics; consistency with the historical
characteristic of the time when it was produced; and the
materials used for the evidence.
 Examples of the things that will be examined when

conducting external criticism of a document include the
quality of the paper, the type of the ink, and the language
and words used in materials, among others.
 Internal criticism, on the other hand, is the examination of
the truthfulness of the evidence. It looks at the content of
the source and examines the circumstance of its
production.
 Internal criticism looks at the truthfulness and factuality

of the evidence by looking at the author of source, its
context, the agenda behind its creation, the knowledge
which informed it, and its intended purpose, among
others.
 For example, Japanese reports and declarations during the
period of the war should not be taken as a historical fact
hastily.
 Internal criticism entails that the historian acknowledge

and analyse how such reports can be manipulated to be
used as war propaganda.
ACTIVITY FOR THE
WEEK
Directions:
On a one whole sheet of paper, discuss and cite the differences of
the following based on your OWN WORDS/UNDERSTANDING.
Note: HAND-WRITTEN OUTPUT ONLY.
1. History vs. Historiography (5points)

2. Positivism vs. Postcolonialism (5points)
3. Primary Sources vs. Secondary Sources (5points)
4. External Criticism vs. Internal Criticism (5points)

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 Historia became known as the account of the past of a person

 Positivism also entails an objective means arriving at a

 Positivist historians are also expected to be objective and

 Postcolonial history is therefore a reaction and an

 Annales scholars studied the history of peasantry, the history

 Annales thinkers married history with other disciplines

 More than this, in writing a book, Agoncillo used primary

 Examples of the things that will be examined when

 Internal criticism looks at the truthfulness and factuality

 Internal criticism entails that the historian acknowledge

Note: HAND-WRITTEN OUTPUT ONLY.

1. History vs. Historiography (5points)

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