Epistemological Questions: One Problem... My Precious
One of the most troubling problems any historian must face is that we are at a disadvantage when it comes to precious historical material. Let's save the argument whether social science is really a science for later. The goods, the loot, the tangible evidence in which historians so desperately need is in limited quantity. Let me illustrate this point.
If our vast universe can be whittled down, let's assume this circle is it and within this circle is everything that has occurred in that said universe. Obviously, this circle would
have to be quite large, much larger than the one on your screen, in fact you and your screen would be part of it. Nevermind.
Now to get to where we humans can reasonably say we are, this has got to shrink a bit, or quite a lot. After all, not only have we not been around forever, but we definitely haven't seen it all. Which brings me to our
next circle.
This circle represents everything in the known universe that we, as humans, have observed. Excuse the model, but you can be assured that this circle is monumentally smaller than the first. But we're not done yet.
The next circle in our ever-dwindling chasm of information is a bit redundant, but all the more important. It is all that we as h
umans have remembered. Throughout the day there are thousands of interactions that one can go through. How many do you remember, at least on a conscious level, each day?
This level also is where one can say Oral History begins. An event occurs and is remembered and reiterated down through generations. Whether myth or fact, Oral History is our most fundamental way of communicating our past.
Now we come to the next big drop-off in our model. Hoping that someone sees something of interest and remembers it, that person now must get off their butt and take the time to record that event. This can happen in any number of ways, but it must be done, else the event is most likely lost to time.
Our long journey is almost over. Hopefully for our precious materials the journey is a good
one. See, the next level for our voyagers is that their sojourn is a good one. Through the test of time our items must withstand the test of time. Flood, fire, wind, enemies, and simple decomposition all threaten the survival of our deeds.
The unfortunate fact of life is that somethings may never be found. Buried beneath the earth, stored in someone's attic, or written on the back of someone's
painting are these remaining traveler's waiting to be discovered. They have survived the long journey, but have yet to meet their resting place.
The last two circles deal with the end product. What to do with recorded observations from our past? This is where the historian comes in. The problem of our dwindling lack of information about our universe only compounds itself when the man meets the maker.
The next circle looks into the quality of the product we are dealing with. Was our observer a rational, honest person who could be trusted in telling us the unfettered truth? Or were they rather someone with an agenda, whose sole purpose in recording to bolster themselves or spur on some ulterior motive? This is the historians job to decide. Again, our circles keep shrinking with each level, as now we are only left with that information which not only withstood the test of time, but also is deemed useful to our unbiased professional historian, or are they?
Our last circle is one that deals with the present. Although the material left behind from the past is limited, it doesn't write itself into our history books. Our problem compounds itself when one takes into account bias, usefulness, and the scholarly editing process historians
inevitably encounter when pursuing a topic. A discussion on bias and objectivity will be attempted later, but for now one must understand that the historian has an agenda no matter how benign it may be. Historians pick what goes into our history books and leave out that which is deemed irrelevant.
This model, besides making one feel depressed towards our prospects on really knowing and understanding our universe and truth, leads one to beg the question:
What's the point?
This smallest circle is the light at the end of the tunnel. The only connection any of us have to our past and the lessons of our world. It may not be much, but it is all we have to work with. It is our nature to be curious about our world, how it works, and what we can do to make it better. The reasons for studying history are many, some to be examined later.
If our vast universe can be whittled down, let's assume this circle is it and within this circle is everything that has occurred in that said universe. Obviously, this circle would
have to be quite large, much larger than the one on your screen, in fact you and your screen would be part of it. Nevermind.Now to get to where we humans can reasonably say we are, this has got to shrink a bit, or quite a lot. After all, not only have we not been around forever, but we definitely haven't seen it all. Which brings me to our
next circle.This circle represents everything in the known universe that we, as humans, have observed. Excuse the model, but you can be assured that this circle is monumentally smaller than the first. But we're not done yet.
The next circle in our ever-dwindling chasm of information is a bit redundant, but all the more important. It is all that we as h
umans have remembered. Throughout the day there are thousands of interactions that one can go through. How many do you remember, at least on a conscious level, each day?This level also is where one can say Oral History begins. An event occurs and is remembered and reiterated down through generations. Whether myth or fact, Oral History is our most fundamental way of communicating our past.
Now we come to the next big drop-off in our model. Hoping that someone sees something of interest and remembers it, that person now must get off their butt and take the time to record that event. This can happen in any number of ways, but it must be done, else the event is most likely lost to time.
Our long journey is almost over. Hopefully for our precious materials the journey is a good
one. See, the next level for our voyagers is that their sojourn is a good one. Through the test of time our items must withstand the test of time. Flood, fire, wind, enemies, and simple decomposition all threaten the survival of our deeds.The unfortunate fact of life is that somethings may never be found. Buried beneath the earth, stored in someone's attic, or written on the back of someone's
painting are these remaining traveler's waiting to be discovered. They have survived the long journey, but have yet to meet their resting place.The last two circles deal with the end product. What to do with recorded observations from our past? This is where the historian comes in. The problem of our dwindling lack of information about our universe only compounds itself when the man meets the maker.
The next circle looks into the quality of the product we are dealing with. Was our observer a rational, honest person who could be trusted in telling us the unfettered truth? Or were they rather someone with an agenda, whose sole purpose in recording to bolster themselves or spur on some ulterior motive? This is the historians job to decide. Again, our circles keep shrinking with each level, as now we are only left with that information which not only withstood the test of time, but also is deemed useful to our unbiased professional historian, or are they?Our last circle is one that deals with the present. Although the material left behind from the past is limited, it doesn't write itself into our history books. Our problem compounds itself when one takes into account bias, usefulness, and the scholarly editing process historians
inevitably encounter when pursuing a topic. A discussion on bias and objectivity will be attempted later, but for now one must understand that the historian has an agenda no matter how benign it may be. Historians pick what goes into our history books and leave out that which is deemed irrelevant.This model, besides making one feel depressed towards our prospects on really knowing and understanding our universe and truth, leads one to beg the question:
What's the point?
This smallest circle is the light at the end of the tunnel. The only connection any of us have to our past and the lessons of our world. It may not be much, but it is all we have to work with. It is our nature to be curious about our world, how it works, and what we can do to make it better. The reasons for studying history are many, some to be examined later.
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