Problems+with+the+History

On this page please make a list of problems that come up with the area of knowledge. Along with the problem please explain how this affects the area of knowledge as a whole. Personally add at least 3 problems or fallacies.


 * Lorette Mourra, Camilo Atala and Diana Zhan:**


 * // 3 problems with History: //**

"Faithfulness to the truth of history involves far more than a research, however patient and scrupulous, into special facts. Such facts may be detailed with the most minute exactness, and yet the narrative, taken as a whole, may be unmeaning or untrue. The narrator must seek to imbue himself with the life and spirit of the time. He must study events in their bearings near and remote; in the character, habits, and manners of those who took part in them. He must himself be, as it were, a sharer or a spectator of the action he describes." **Francis Parkman** []
 * Based on this quote, history has the problem of being sometimes biased. Dependind on the textbooks, different people remembered in history are seen in many different ways. Sometimes, some historical facts are left out of textbooks under the justification of "protecting" the reputations of a certain country. Other times, textbooks only highlight the positive factors of a person and ignore the other face of his life; or they try to justify their actions under false or irrelevant reasons.

"If you do not like the past, change it." **William L. Burton** []
 * This quote highlights another main problem wth history: the issue of who is to decide what important events or important people are to be consideed relvant in history? Who says that "X" event is to be recored in history and is very imprtant to be learned? Who? All events that take place are significant, however, some events are studied more deeply than others, which creates a hierarchy of events. Going back to the quote, the importance of historical events is decided by an anonymous, which means that there is no solid statement that declares such event as the most important one, therfore, William L. Burton has quoted that you can chang the past.

"Each age tries to form its own conception of the past. Each age writes the history of the past anew with reference to the conditions uppermost in its own time." **Frederick Jackson Turner** []
 * This quote also highlights another problem with history: history is changed by how people perceive the information. As time goes by, life changes, habits change, believes change and along with all of this, the perception of the world also changes. As a result, historians who write, citicize and analyze the past, nowadays, will inevitably be influenced by the current issues going on. There will always be that "compare and contrast" method present in historical events, which changes with every new generation.

//How it affects the Areas of Knowledge://
 * History records all past findings, studies, results, events and methods. If History has all these issues involving biased claims, ranking of importance of events and conception "mutations" caused by perception, then, as result, all the records of the areas of knowledge: human sciences, natural sciences, arts, etc., will as well be altered. History of the different sciences can be changed and altered by the records done by historians and other scientists based on new information, new findings, new technology, a new way of perceiving something or being influenced by a new ideology.

Leo Beneditt,Loany Ham, Vivi Massou

The three problems of the area of knowledge:
1.- In history, the object of study are commonly past events, so the historians most do a lot of research to gather good evidence and draw conclusions. 2.- Many details and events can be lost in time, because they weren`t properly register or weren`t register at all. Consequently, history can present gaps and the historian could be force to draw conclusions without the enough information. 3.- History is very subjective, because events are precise, but the causes and many consequences can be subjective. Historians most also think the way people thought in that time, to travel in time and submerge in the culture/time he is analyzing.

There are many problems with History including:
 * Either there is too little or too much evidence
 * How and who decided which are significant events in history
 * Perception playing a large role on how history is told
 * The way history tends to reflect the interests of a social group
 * Sandra Lopez

Oscar Aguilar