READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

1.1 History : Meaning and Importance

The word ’history’ is derived from the Greek noun ’historia’ meaning ’inquiry or
research.’ Aristotle regarded it as a "systematic account of a set of natural
phenomena, whether or not chronological ordering was a factor in the account." The
term "history" has now come to be applied to accounts of events that are narrated in a
chronological order, and deal with the past of mankind.

Learning by inquiry about the past of mankind was later developed into a discipline
by the Greek historians Thucydides and Heredeotus (who is popularly known as
’Father of History’). E. H. Carn defined history as an "unending dialogue between
the present and the past." Jawaharlal Nehruobserved that man’s growth from
barbarism to civilization is supposed to be the theme of history." Will Durant called
history "a narrative of what civilized men have thought or done in the past time."

World history is primarily concerned with the evolution of mankind. It traces the
whole story of man as well as of his progress in civilization a culture from the dim
past up to the present day. It indicates his failures and his successes, describes his
laws and his wars, and reveals his religions and his arts. It gives an account of the
significant developments that took place in the past with reference to the countries and
the men and women who played a noteworthy part. Thomas Carlyle, a famous
historian of the French revolution regards world history as the "biography of great
men."

The importance of history is in its capacity to help one to draw conclusions from the
past events. It may be said that history is to the human race, what memory is to each
man. It sheds the light of the past upon the present, thus helping one to understand
oneself, by making one acquainted with other peoples. Also, as one studies the rise
and fall of empires and civilizations, the lessons of the past help one to avoid the
pitfalls of the present.

History makes one’s life richer by giving meaning to the books one reads, the cities
one visits or the music one hears. It also broadens one’s outlook by presenting to one
an admixture of races, a mingling of cultures and a spectacular drama of the making
of the modern world out of diverse forces.

Another importance of history is that it enables one to grasp one’s relationship with
one’s past. For example if one wonders why the U.S. flag has 48 stars or why Great
Britain follows monarchy, one has to turn to history for an answer.

History is of immense value to social scientists engaged in research. Thus the political
scientist doing research on the parliamentary form of government, has to draw his
materials from the treasure trove of history.

It preserves the traditional and cultural values of a nation, and serves as a beacon
light, guiding society in confronting various crises. History is indeed, as Allen Nerins
puts it, "a bridge connecting the past with the present and pointing the road to the
future."

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY DATA

BASIS FOR
PRIMARY DATA SECONDARY DATA
COMPARISON

Meaning Primary data refers to the Secondary data means data

first hand data gathered by collected by someone else
the researcher himself. earlier.

Data Real time data Past data

Process Very involved Quick and easy

Source Surveys, observations, Government publications,

experiments, websites, books, journal
questionnaire, personal articles, internal records etc.
interview, etc.
 BASIS FOR
PRIMARY DATA SECONDARY DATA
COMPARISON

Cost effectiveness Expensive Economical

Collection time Long Short

Specific Always specific to the May or may not be specific to

researcher's needs. the researcher's need.

Available in Crude form Refined form

Accuracy and More Relatively less

Reliability

Internal and External Criticism

1-22-99: Dr. Lynn Sims, adjunct history professor at John Tyler Community
College, notes two ways of looking at a set of data. He writes about applying
these criticisms specifically to "the Battle of Sand Creek, Colorado, in
November, 1864," but these methods can probably be applied to data in nearly
any field.

Internal criticism looks within the data itself to try to determine truth--facts and
"reasonable" interpretation. It includes looking at the apparent or possible motives of
the person providing the data.
External criticism applies "science to a document." It involves such physical and
technical tests as dating of paper a document is written on, but it also involves a
knowledge of when certain things existed or were possible, e.g. when zip codes were
invented.*
External criticism and the application of both forms of critique often require research.
 Part of research can be oral history--a taped conversation, often with an older family
member in Sims' course.

It seems to me that such principles are not just for helping to decide questions
about who wrote Shakespeare's plays, whether the Piltdown Man is an
authentic fossil, or whether Copernicus could have invented Newton's Laws
of Gravitational Motion. The principles of internal and external criticism
seemed to be crucial techniques in analyzing recent discoveries in the tobacco
industry that led to the lawsuits settled in 1998. Such principles might also
help to clarify questions about any company or culture or college, when the
questions become important. Did our college have phone in registration
before 1997? How could McD's have sold 99 billion hamburgers--and when
did they start counting?

The oral history component could have many applications, too. For instance,
does anyone know the history of your college? As the VCCS professoriate
ages and retires, will each college lose track of its origins and its pioneers and
have to redefine its anew? Putting an archive of photos to use, getting old-
timers to talk about what registration was like before computers or running
the college before it had buildings--these might be worthwhile activities.