Lesson 1 (Readings in Philippine History): Definition, Causes, Issues, and Methodology

Main ideas, concepts, and lessons

Purpose and definition of History

• History is the study of the past, involving investigation of historical events, their causes, and their meaning.
• The term comes from the Greek “Historia,” meaning knowledge acquired through inquiry/investigation.
• History is understood as an account of the past of individuals or groups based on written documents and historical evidence.

What “counts” as History (importance of documentation)

• Traditional historians follow a “no document, no history” principle:
  • Written documents are required to establish historical facts.
  • Verbal stories alone are not considered history in this approach.
• History as a field often emphasizes wars, revolutions, and major breakthroughs as key subjects.

History vs. Historiography

• History: the study of past events (what happened, why it happened).
• Historiography: the “history of history”—studying how historians write history, including the historian’s context.
• The distinction matters because historiography helps students understand not only facts, but also how/why historians interpret and present those facts.

Why study History (importance)

• History provides lessons from the past that help make sense of the present.
• Learning from past mistakes helps prevent repeating them.
• Remembering the past can inspire people to continue good practices and move forward despite past failures or bad experiences.

Schools of thought that value history

• Positivism (18th–19th century):
  • To claim knowledge is true, it requires objective facts before concluding.
• Post-colonialism (early 20th century):
  • History writing should:
    1. Highlight identity free from colonial discourse, and
    2. Criticize colonialism—its methods, effects, and ideas.
  • History is written to tell a national story and/or respond to colonial influence.

Issues and challenges in studying History

• History written by victors
  • Narratives of the past may be biased toward powerful/dominant groups (the elites), leading to contested or one-sided accounts.
• Absolute historical truth is difficult
  • The past cannot be accessed directly, so complete accuracy is hard.
  • Knowledge depends on what sources were written and preserved.
• Subjectivity of historians
  • Even with evidence, historians interpret through their own:
    • context, environment, ideology, education, influences
  • Therefore, history can be inevitably subjective to some degree.

History as a “scientific” discipline despite subjectivity

• The study of history remains scientific due to rigorous research and methodology.
• Example method mentioned:
  • If using an oral account as data, claims should be validated by comparing/corroborating with written sources.

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Methodology and instruction-like content

Use historical sources and evidence

• Historians mainly rely on representations of the past available through sources and evidence, since direct access to the past is impossible.

Classify sources

• Primary sources
  • Produced during the same time period as the event (or by the participants, or at the time closely related to the subject being studied).
• Secondary sources
  • Produced by later authors who use primary sources to create their own accounts/material.
• Key clarification
  • The primary/secondary classification depends on the historical research subject, not just the time period or the “type” of artifact.

Scrutinize sources to avoid deception and reach truth

• Historians and students should critically examine sources to reduce confusion and error.

Conduct external and internal criticism (especially for primary sources)

• External criticism (verifying authenticity)
  • Check physical characteristics and consistency with the time period.
  • Assess materials used for the evidence.
  • Goal: verify whether the evidence is authentic.
• Internal criticism (evaluating truthfulness/content)
  • Examine the content and the circumstances of creation.
  • Evaluate the author’s:
    • context, agenda/purpose, knowledge informing the source, and intended audience.

Interpret and organize evidence into a coherent account

• Historians should not treat facts as “self-speaking.”
• Their job includes:
  • giving meaning to facts,
  • organizing events into a timeline,
  • establishing causes,
  • writing history based on interpreted evidence.

Accept limitations but continue research

• History does not claim to produce complete or final answers because questions evolve over time.
• The historian’s ongoing task is to organize and recover meaningful aspects of the past to offer lessons to societies and future generations.

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Speakers / sources featured (as identifiable in the subtitles)

• Speaker/Presenter: Joe (introduced as “Joe brand” / “Joe” welcoming the audience)
• Named individuals referenced (as examples):
  • Dr. Isabelo de los Reyes (spelled variably in subtitles; referenced as “Dral isabello drias”)
  • Pedro (referenced as “pedroo”; full identity not clearly stated)
  • Dr. (referenced generally earlier in an example; name not fully clear)
• Language/Concept source referenced:
  • Greek etymology for the word “Historia” (no specific author named)