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LESSON 1 INTRODUCTION NATURE, SCOPE AND IMPORTANCE OF HISTORY Learning Objectives: At the end of the lesson, the student

should be able to: 1. Enumerate and discuss the importance, sources, and characteristics of history. 2. Relate history in their course and in the other discipline. 3. Compare and contrast the different conceptions of four great personalities about history. The Meaning of History History is the study of the chronological record of events based on critical examination of sources and authentic materials. It is a very broad subject because it encompasses both past and current events that unfold before us and become part of our lives. It deals with the politics, economics, sciences, society, religion, and civilization of the past. History is concerned with the totality of human experiences past and present. Dr. Jose Rizal did not define history categorically, but his view of history was implicit in what he said about historical works and historians. History to him is a peoples achievement that gives them a sense of pride and belonging. He was particularly interested in the achievement of the Filipino people. The Spaniards of Rizals time were telling the Filipinos that they had no historical roots and no achievement to speak about. Using Morgas book, Rizal disproved this accusation. Morga showed that when Spain reached the Philippines, there was a credible civilization centurys old and flourishing commerce with foreign countries on the mainland of Asia. The book revealed that in certain respects Spain had actually done the Filipinos harm. According to Morga: The ancients have alleged that most of these islands were deserted and uninhabitable, but experience has already demonstrated this belief is fallacious, as they count with good temperature, many people, food supplies and other factors favorable pearls, animals and plants. Ibn Khaldun, the great Arab thinker of the 14th century, left us a legacy of knowledge particularly in the field of history. He distinguished between two meanings of history, one factual and the other is speculative. to the

maintenance of human life. They likewise have many minerals, rich metals, precious stones and

History is a discipline widely cultivated among nations and races, It is eagerly sought after. The men in the street, the ordinary people aspire to know it. Kings and leaders vie for it. Both the learned and the ignorant are able to understand it. For on the surface, history is no more than information about political events, dynasties, and the occurrences of the remote past, elegantly presented and spaced with proverbs. It serves to entertain large, crowded gatherings and brings to us an understanding of human affairs. The inner meaning of history, on the other hand, involves speculation and attempt to get at the truth, subtle explanation of the causes and origins of existing things, and knowledge of the how and why of events. History therefore is rooted in philosophy. To Ibn Khaldun, man is more important ingredient of history on whom everything in the world depends. A state exists only in so far as it is held together by individuals and the group which they constitute, that is, the dynasty. When the dynasty disappears, the state being identical with it also comes to an end. Another great leader, this time an Indian, made an elaborate interpretation of history. Mahatma Gandhi held a humanistic view of nature where man is closely linked to history, as well as an active participant in it. Iya, a local Indian historian summarizes this. He (Gandhi) believed in the power of the spirit of man to shape its environment to some extent and thus affect the course of history. He explicitly rejected the Marxist interpretation of history. He could not accept that our ideologies, ethical standards and values are altogether a product of our material environment. Nehru, former Prime Minister if India, wrote two books, Discovery of India and Glimpses of World History which contains his over-all views of history including its definition. History is not just a record of the doings of big men, of kings and emperors and the like. Real history should deal, not with a few individuals here and there, but with a people who make up a nation, who work and by their labors produce the necessaries and luxuries of life, and who in a thousand different ways act and react with each other.

Such a history of man would really be a fascinating story. It would be the story of mans struggle through the ages against nature and the elements, against wild beasts and the jungle and, last and most difficult of all, against some of his own kind who have tried to keep him down and to exploit him for their benefit. It is a story of mans struggle for a living. SOURCES AND METHODS OF HISTORY

Historical writing requires sources. A high premium is placed on the kind of data to be used because the sources determine the quality of the historical work to be written. History thus differs from a mere story in that it is based on some definite record, account, or source of information, On the basis of such sources, history students attempt to reconstruct the past. Two Kinds of Historical Sources Traditions sources that bear some evidence of a conscious intent to impart information. They include: A. Oral traditions such as reports, legends, sagas, ballads, and anecdotes B. Pictograph representations such as genealogical tables, lists of officials, annals, chronicles, memoirs, biographies and narratives in general C. Pictorial representations such as paintings, statues, photographs of persona and places, plan of buildings, of cities, of battlefields, maps and diagrams. Remains are those that have come down to us as mere relics or survivals of past conditions or events. A. Buildings B. Tools C. Utensils D. Artifacts Like other disciplines, history also uses the scientific or historical method. It consists of analysis of the sources which is historical analysis and in the synthesis of the material.

TWO ASPECTS OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM 1. External Criticism answers the questions What, Where, When, and by Whom such sources were produced. 2. Internal Criticism it involves the meanings and interpretations of the source materials. SYNTHESIS the shifting, grouping, arrangement, generalization and organization of the facts gathered in order to form a body of connected and related knowledge which must be presented in a logical form. CHARACTERICTICS OF HISTORY 1. It is scientific.

2. It is humanistic. 3. It is rational. 4. It is self-revelatory. ASPECTS OF HISTORY History is about the whole life of man in past society; but there are many different aspects of a mans life which demand equal attention from a historian. This is a gigantic undertaking which one historian may not be able to accomplish alone. As a result, there developed specialized areas of history such as: 1. Political History 2. Economic History 3. Social History 4. Cultural History HISTORY AND THE OTHER DISCIPLINES The question has often been posed whether history is a science or an art; whether it belongs to the social sciences or to the humanities. History belongs to the social sciences, but it also belongs to the humanities. In an important sense, history is not a science but an art. However, as we have seen historical leadership does have important ties with social science disciplines especially with other methods and research insights. To assert that history is both a science and an art or a branch of literature is one thing, but it is another to clearly delineate to what extent history is a science and to what extent it is an art. The boundaries are blurred and therefore it may be impossible to make a clear distinction. However, a general analysis of the relationship between history and the social sciences is possible and necessary. The objectives of history and the social sciences are basically the same and this identity of aims is one important common factor. The English historian E. H. Carr stated these aims: Scientists, social scientists, and historians are all engaged in different branches of the same study: the study of man and his environment, of the effects of man on his environment and of his environment on man. The object of the study is the same: to increase mans understanding of, and mastery over, his environment. IMPORTANCE OF HISTORY 1. It is a primary vehicle of socialization, teaching men the past so they may know who they are and what they should be.

2. History provides a basis for the development of a national identity which is essentially linked to indigenous and colonial experience. 3. It helps in the integration of knowledge by providing a good perspective for meaningful comparison of growth and progress. 4. It provides rich examples and illustrations of human virtues and vices, successes and failures, order and conflict from which society might learn. 5. It reveals patterns of thoughts and actions or events from which the present and the future might find direction and meaning.

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