SUBJECTIVITY AND OBJECTIVITY IN HISTORY 2 Lectures

WHAT IS HISTORY

“ History is who we are , why we are and
 the way we are”
(David Mccullaugh)
IMPORTANCE OF HISTORY
“ People without the knowledge of their past,culture and

society history is like a tree without roots”
(Mark Bloch)
 It helps us to study about ancient civilizations
 source of wisdom
 source of inspiration
 Source of moralistic purpose
HISTORIANS
 Historians are concerned with a continuous methodological process

narrative and research of past events as relating to the human
affairs.
 They have the authority on it
 They have interest in human behavior and society
 They have the ability to analyze and interpret information
DESCRIPTIVE HISTORY:
 spoken or written account of a person, object or an event

 historian writes history according to:
 their own thoughts
 perception
 views and ideas
ARGUMENTATIVE HISTORY

Argument is the essence of history
 Historians formulate their arguments on the basis of:
• facts and figures
• Observation
• Historical records
• primary sources
• secondary sources
SUBJECTIVITY
 State of being biased

 Being influenced by :
• religion
• politics
• Economic system
• society
• language
 “History is the version of past events that people have decided to
agree upon”
Napoleon Bonaparte
Subjective historian is always:
 Biased
 Prejudiced
 Narrow minded
 Attached
 Subjectivity refers to how someone's judgment is shaped by
personal opinions and feelings instead of outside influences.
 Subjectivity is a form of bias and also individuality.
 Subjectivity is the opposite of objectivity, which is based

purely on the facts and isn't personal.
 Subjectivity is how we view the history that we
know or don’t know. We do this by analyzing
events, people, ideas, and cultures through various
perceptions.
 These different perceptions could be cultural, religious,
socioeconomic, Marxist, political, etc.. U can say that
these are the different influences on historian in writing
history.
 Subjectivity is the interpretation of history with an

inherent bias.
How does subjectivity happen in writing history?
 Because certain events happened so long ago, and because

sometimes the evidence is incomplete, different historians
have different approaches and views about what happened in
the past. This is the subjective nature of history. One historian
claims an event happened a certain way, while another
disagrees completely.
 Voltaire pointed out that history is a pack of tricks we play upon the
dead. An element of subjectivity enters at every step in the process of
investigation; the present can and does influence our knowledge of the
past.
 Every historian has his own likes, tastes, behaviour and preferences. He
may choose either political or social or economic or military or
constitutional or art-history and because he or she is specially inclined
towards that particular subject, he or she is likely to be affected by it.
 Spencer’s history gives us an impression of the course of
events that is entirely different.
 Karl Marx would pick only the class struggle,
 Hegel would concentrate on human spirit.
 element of subjectivity enters at every step in the process
of investigation; the present can and does influence our
knowledge of the past because past events do not any
longer exist anywhere except in mind of the historian,
who has now become both subject and object. He
reconstructs the past in his own mind and in doing so
imposes at least some of his ideas on past events.
OBJECTIVITY
 Being unbiased
 Writing history without the influence of :
1. Religion
2. Politics
3. Economic system
4. Society and culture
5. Language
6. Cast ,ethnic group, colour,religious, sect
“You need the kind of objectivity that makes you
forget everything you have heard, clear the table and
do a factual study like a scientist would”
1. It is important in the scientific method, which is first condition of
research. Objectivity means basing conclusion of facts without any
bias and personal judgment.
2. Objectivity means existing independently of perception or an

individual's conception. It is undistorted by emotion or personal
bias and is related to actual and external phenomena as opposed to
thoughts, feelings.
 the factors affecting objectivity are:
1. Personal feelings,emotions and biases .
2. Objectivitty is unacceptable in our society and very few
historians are objective in the world. Because
historians are human beings and to be influenced by
religion, family, cast ,ethnicity, religious sect is natural.
 historian belongs to a social cultural setting,
which is influenced by time, space, circumstances,
nationality, race, religion, social class and
historical philosophies and interpretations.
 Personal bises : it is deeply rooted in one’s mind,
It also includes conflicting in historical theories
which lead to historical controversies and
disagreements among historians about the same
historical reality.
 Ethical : researcher’s relation with other
researchers. There are few types of interpersonal
relations. ,relations with those permitting access to
sources of data, relation with investigators
connected with the project and with research
subjects themselves
 The essential requirement to be an objective historian as
follows,
 Firstly, he has a capacity to rise above the limited vision of his
own situation in society and in history
Secondly, he has the capacity to project his
vision in such a way as to give a more
profound and more lasting insight into the
past.
No historian can claim to write ultimate
history or total history of an event but some
historians write history which is more
durable and has more of objective character
than others, these are the historians which
have
before reading history, historian suggests that the reader should
first study the historian and find out all that one can about the
author. This will help the audience to know the author's mind of
expressing history. One scholar said objectivity in history lose
value when it is applied to nothing and it loses its usefulness when
applied to everything.
 Many philosophers have rejected the possibility of
objective historical knowledge . Why?
 According to Mark Bevir, objective interpretation
are those which best meet rational criteria of
accuracy, comprehensiveness, progressiveness,
and these interpretations should be regarded as
moving towards truth understood as a regulative
ideal. For him, objectivity
 Keith Jenkins outlines that objectivity is
impossible to achieve in the study of history, as
actual past has gone and creating history in
present means content is as much invented as
found. As it is impossible for historian to remove
his or her, preconceived ideas and personal
motives to write history in an objective way.
 E. H. Carr
 Firstly,"he has the capacity to rise above the limited
vision of his own situation in society and in history
and his capacity to recognize the extent of his
involvement in that situation, to recognize that is to
say, the impossibility of total objectivity".
 Patience and self control
 Open mind
 Use of standardized concepts
 Use of quantitative method
OBJECTIVE HISTORIAN IS ALWAYS:
 Unbiased
 Fair
 Broad minded
 Detached
How to be objective :
 not to exaggerate your writing
 be specific instead of vague or general

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WHAT IS HISTORY

“ People without the knowledge of their past,culture and

 Historians are concerned with a continuous methodological process

 spoken or written account of a person, object or an event

 State of being biased

 Subjectivity is a form of bias and also individuality.

 Subjectivity is the opposite of objectivity, which is based

 Subjectivity is the interpretation of history with an

 Because certain events happened so long ago, and because

2. Objectivity means existing independently of perception or an

 not to exaggerate your writing

 be specific instead of vague or general

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