3.1 Historical Method

Version 1.2 February 2017                                           (Previous Version)

We need to understand what the “facts of history� are.  We generally assume that the real historical “facts� can't be changed, but we can change what we believe they were.  But what makes a “fact� an historical one?  Once we know the facts then we can supposedly join the dots together to make a story and explain how and why things happened as they did, based on the historical records (all sorts of written documents, but also video and oral histories) as well as scientific evidence.  We must avoid looking only at one side of a story, such as the victors in a war or social movement, and we must be aware of and try to counteract the inbuilt biases we have acquired from our culture and learning.  We believe it is reasonable to attempt to construct an historical consensus, of what has happened globally over the long term. 

We are not blind to the risks involved and the controversies that will arise, as people come to the task from different backgrounds with different preconceptions and theoretical frameworks, and as we learn more “facts� and gain more “insight�.  The goal is not only laudable but doable!

We propose to look at how we know what we know about history under the following headings:

As stated in the chapter overview, this is the current summary of our conclusions in this area:

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