It is Relatively Easy to Establish the Reliability and Validity of Accounts of Historical Events
journal article
History and Theory
, pp. 39-66 (28 pages)
Published By: Wiley
https://www. jstor .org/stable/2677997
- Access everything in the JPASS collection
- Read the full-text of every article
- Download up to 10 article PDFs to save and keep
- Access everything in the JPASS collection
- Read the full-text of every article
- Download up to 120 article PDFs to save and keep
Debates among historians show that they expect descriptions of past people and events, interpretations of historical subjects, and genetic explanations of historical changes to be fair and not misleading. Sometimes unfair accounts of the past are the result of historians' bias, of their preferring one account over others because it accords with their interests. It is useful to distinguish history that is misleading by accident from that which is the result of personal bias; and to distinguish personal bias from cultural bias and general cultural relativity. This article explains what fair descriptions, interpretations, and explanations are like in order to clarify the senses in which they can be biased. It then explains why bias is deplorable, and after noting those who regard it as more or less inevitable, considers how personal bias can be avoided. It argues that it is not detachment that is needed, but commitment to standards of rational inquiry. Some might think that rational standards of inquiry will not be enough to avoid bias if the evidence available to the historian is itself biased. In fact historians often allow for bias in evidence, and even explain it when reconstructing what happened in the past. The article concludes by noting that although personal bias can be largely avoided, cultural bias is not so easy to detect or correct
History and Theory is the premier international journal in the field of theory and philosophy of history. Founded in 1960, History and Theory publishes articles, review essays, and summaries of books principally in these areas: critical philosophy of history, cause, explanation, interpretation, objectivity; speculative philosophy of history, comparative and global history; historiography, theoretical dimensions of historians' debates; history of historiography, theory and practice of past historians and philosophers of history; historical methodology, examination of texts and other evidence, narrativism, stylistics; critical theory, Marxism, deconstruction, gender theory, psychoanalysis; time and culture, conceptions of humanity-in-time; related disciplines, interactions between history and the natural and social sciences, the humanities, and psychology. JSTOR provides a digital archive of the print version of History and Theory. The electronic version of History and Theory is available at http://www.interscience.wiley.com. Authorized users may be able to access the full text articles at this site.
Wiley is a global provider of content and content-enabled workflow solutions in areas of scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly research; professional development; and education. Our core businesses produce scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly journals, reference works, books, database services, and advertising; professional books, subscription products, certification and training services and online applications; and education content and services including integrated online teaching and learning resources for undergraduate and graduate students and lifelong learners. Founded in 1807, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. has been a valued source of information and understanding for more than 200 years, helping people around the world meet their needs and fulfill their aspirations. Wiley has published the works of more than 450 Nobel laureates in all categories: Literature, Economics, Physiology or Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, and Peace. Wiley has partnerships with many of the world's leading societies and publishes over 1,500 peer-reviewed journals and 1,500+ new books annually in print and online, as well as databases, major reference works and laboratory protocols in STMS subjects. With a growing open access offering, Wiley is committed to the widest possible dissemination of and access to the content we publish and supports all sustainable models of access. Our online platform, Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) is one of the world's most extensive multidisciplinary collections of online resources, covering life, health, social and physical sciences, and humanities.
This item is part of a JSTOR Collection.
For terms and use, please refer to our
History and Theory © 2000 Wesleyan University
Source: https://www.jstor.org/stable/2677997
0 Response to "It is Relatively Easy to Establish the Reliability and Validity of Accounts of Historical Events"
Post a Comment