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Introduction and Historical Sources.

This document provides an overview of key concepts in history and historical research. It defines history, describes primary and secondary sources, and discusses approaches to presenting history factually or speculatively. It also outlines theories on how history has developed, such as the Great God and Great Man theories. Finally, it covers external and internal criticisms used to authenticate and evaluate the accuracy of historical sources.

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103 views2 pages

Introduction and Historical Sources.

This document provides an overview of key concepts in history and historical research. It defines history, describes primary and secondary sources, and discusses approaches to presenting history factually or speculatively. It also outlines theories on how history has developed, such as the Great God and Great Man theories. Finally, it covers external and internal criticisms used to authenticate and evaluate the accuracy of historical sources.

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ELMSS
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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St.

Anthony’s College
San Jose, Antique
LIBERAL ARTS- EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

Week No. 1
HANDOUTS
GEC 102 (Readings in the Philippine History)
Prepared by/Instructor: Mr. Vincent E. Baylon

HISTORY
 Derived from the Greek word historia which means “knowledge acquired throughout inquiry or
investigation.”
 As a discipline, it existed for around 2,400 years and is as old as mathematics and philosophy.

History can be defined in several ways.


 a documented record of man and his society.
 a study of man and his achievements from the beginning of the written records to the present time
(Gray, 1956 in De Viana, 2015)
 everything that has happened or occurred from the beginning of the last instance.
 as a record, it is a documented history of man and his society.
 as a literature, it is an effective presentation of the unfolding of events.
 as a record of events shows the evolution of man and his society and from the age of barbarism to
what he is today (De Vianna 2015).
 for students of history, it is the record of the past showing his development and improvement
throughout the ages and how he met his various challenges through time.
 it is not merely a chronology (a list of events as they happen) but this should show a pattern on
how man and his society has evolved from the primitive form to the present; showing his ability
to cope with obstacles and challenges that he himself or nature has placed throughout his
existence.
2 APPROACHES OF PRESENTING HISTORY
1. Factual History
 Emphasis on the who, what, when and where.
Example: The Katipunan (KKK) was established in Azcarraga St. (now Claro M. Recto,
Manila) by Andres Bonifacio, Deodato Arellano, Valentin Diaz. Teodoro Plata, Ladislao
Diwa, Jose Dizon and few others.

2. Speculative History
 Attempts to get the truth and demand explanation about the origin of things or
events/answers the questions of subjectivity as to “how” and “why” events happen or
exist
Example: The Katipunan was organized to end the Filipino slavery from the Spanish
colonial government or to gain freedom from the Spanish Conquistadores.

THEORIES ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF HISTORY


1. The Great God Theory
 The most primitive attempts to explain the origin and development of the world and man
are the creation myths to be found among preliterate peoples.

2. The Great Man Theory


 Emerged from a dissociation of the dual components of the Great God theory. The
immense powers attributed to the gods become transferred to and concentrated in some
figure at the head of the state, the church or other key institution or movement.

3. The Great Mind Theory


 The Greek Anaxagoras said: “Reason (Nous ) governs the world.” Aristotle held that the
prime mover of the universe and thereby the ultimate animator of everything within it
was God, who was defined as pure mind engaged in thinking about itself.

4. The Best People Theory


 All such interpretations contain infusions of the prejudice that some elite, the Best Race,
the favored nation, the ruling class alone make history.
5. The Human Nature Theory
 Most persistent is the view that history in the last analysis has been determined by the
qualities of human nature, good or bad.

HISTORICAL SOURCES
1. Primary Sources
 considered as the lifeblood of history
 it directly talks about the subject matter (De Vianna 2015)
 accounts of people who are direct participants or eyewitness to an event are also primary
sources
Examples: minutes of meeting, diaries and journals, autobiographies, speeches, receipts,
essays written by a person expressing his views, laws, letters of instructions, decrees,
letters, eyewitness accounts, official reports, newsletter articles reporting directly about
the event, editorials or books containing direct quotation of events.

2. Secondary Sources
 are documents or works made by individuals who are not directly involved to the events
or made by people who obtained the information from somebody else or from primary
sources.
 produced by an author who used primary sources to produce the material
 are historical sources which studied a certain historical subject
Examples: textbooks, encyclopedia entries, newspapers accounts of a meeting

EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL CRITICISMS


All sources of historical data must be subjected to rigorous scientific analysis to determine both their
authenticity and their accuracy. Furthermore, historical data are subjected to rigorous scientific analysis
through external and internal criticism (Gottchalk 1969).
1. External Criticism
 It is an establishment of authenticity
 Purpose: To ensure that the documents are not mere forgeries or inventions.
 If the researcher is dealing with a problem for which source are relatively old, and for
which authenticity is not necessarily a given, there are a number of scientific techniques
available such as the physical and chemical tests.

2. Internal Criticism
 It is the establishment of accuracy.
 Purpose: To evaluate the accuracy and the worth of the data.
 In determining the accuracy of the data, 4 factors are to be considered.
a. Author’s knowledge and competence
b. Time delay
c. Motives and biases of the author
d. Consistency of the data
 The verified facts were then presented as objectively as possible, into a narrative form
following the stated framework for interpretation and analysis.
 Analysis involved in historical data was logical analysis rather than statistical analysis.

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