objectivity in history
ethical standards of history writing
if the historian has observed all ethical standards of history writing
what is there instead of truth in history ..
truthfulness- an honest attempt of the historian to stay as close as possible to what they believe is the truth
perspective
correspondance to facts ( problems)
already have elements of interpretations
-history = not neutral trivia but causation and significance
objectively existing phenomena in history
"trivia" in history
theory-laden
historical facts are statements about the past that already contain an element of interpretation in them
opinion
a point of view with no definition of a vantage point
rival interpretations (six criteria)
-an "objective fact" in history = an interpretation we currently find more acceptable than existing rival interpretations
- better theory comes we abandon old theory and replace it
historical interpretation
the subjectivity that comes with different interpretations of history
-allows us to understand the past rather than having a long list of trivia
creative of co-existence of varying & conflicting perspectives
truth,perspecitve, & bias in heteroglossia
no truth only dialogue of perspectives
truth requires many incommensurable perspectives no singleton's truth
truth = dialogue of multiple perspectives on equal footing
bias= perspectives
correspondence to facts
"true to facts"
if historical interpretations correspond to known facts = seen as objective facts
incommensurability of facts
as a paradigm shifts, facts also change.
facts can't be fully relied on since facts are not fixed
cons & pros of ethical standards of history writing
cons: historian can lie/ not easy to tell if the historian was truly following ethical code
implicit and explicit bias
pros: no theory laden facts
intentions of historians
what are the six criteria with a short summary of each one
accuracy: facts support the interpretation
comprehensiveness: wide range of facts with few exceptions
openness: clearly formulated claims that invite criticism
progressiveness: resounds to criticism positively
fruitfulness: revisions enable new perspectives & reinterpretations of existing history
elements of historical interpretation
selecting evidence
inferring causal claims
identifying historical significance
(HEC)
ethical standards of history writing by who and what are they?
Arthur Assis
-not present something untrue as true
avoid partiality lead them to distort truth
-not omit inconvenient facts from their accounting of the past
-tell what they believe to be the truth at all times