A Course Module for

Readings in Philippine
History
John Lee Candelaria, Veronica C. Alporha, Ayshia F. Kunting
2021
Lesson 1: Meaning of
History

Week No. 1
Lesson 1: Meaning of History

Lesson Objectives

By the end of this lesson, the students will be able to:

• define history and trace its development as a field of study;
• examine the issues surrounding historical discipline; and
• evaluate the importance and function of history.
Lesson 1: Meaning of History

Lesson Outline

1. Definition and Subject Matter

2. Issues and Questions
Lesson 1: Meaning of History

Lesson Introduction

• The meaning and ascribed function to history changed and developed

from one historical period to the next.
• Historical methods and historical sources were used and employed
differently in each period.
• This lesson is a chapter on the history of history.
Lesson 1: Meaning of History

Definition and Subject Matter: Discussion Points

• History can refer to two things:
• Everything that happened in the past
• A kind of research or inquiry
• History is a discipline or a field of study and investigation that is
primarily concerned with human activities done in the past.
• History is concerned with human activities and not the affairs of deities,
mythological creatures, or fictive characters.
• History is an inquiry that falls within the realm of the social sciences.
• History is concerned with the past. It does not concern itself with the present and
with the future.
• History seeks to answer the question why?
Lesson 1: Meaning of History

Definition and Subject Matter: Discussion Points

• Historical discipline changed in terms of its nature, significance, and
purpose through time.
• In ancient Greek civilization, history became concerned with human affairs
and activities. Herodotus, the Father of History, wrote history to describe
the events of the past for posterity.
• Thucydides introduced a more “scientific” or systematic approach to
historical writing. For him, the only reliable historical sources were
testimonies of people who were eyewitnesses to the event being studied
(cf. “History of the Peloponnesian War”).
• Because of this consideration, Herodotus and Thucydides were thus
limited to the study of a small geographical space and of the past within
the living memory.
Lesson 1: Meaning of History

Definition and Subject Matter: Discussion Points

• As the Greek civilization grew and expanded, ancient Greek historians
started recognizing that they could no longer just rely on the testimonies of
living witnesses to history. Thus, they started collecting and compiling
these eyewitness testimonies, enabling them to study the remote past and
places.
• The practice of keeping voluminous written records gave way to the
primacy given to written sources.
Lesson 1: Meaning of History

Definition and Subject Matter: Processing Questions

• What is the definition of history?

• Why did Herodotus write history?
• For Herodotus and Thucydides, what are the only reliable historical
sources?
• How did this consideration on the reliability of sources affect the way they
wrote history?
Lesson 1: Meaning of History

Definition and Subject Matter: Answers

• History is a discipline or a field of study and investigation that is primarily
concerned with human activities done in the past.
• Herodotus, the Father of History, wrote history to record the past deeds of
men for posterity or for future use.
• For Herodotus and Thucydides, the only reliable historical sources are the
testimonies of eyewitnesses to the past event being studied.
• Relying solely on eyewitness testimonies limited their historical study both
in terms of period and place.
Lesson 1: Meaning of History
Issues and Questions: Discussion Points

• The primacy of written sources in historical study privileged sectors who

were in the higher level of the social ladder.
• Topics of historical study were also limited to those that were perceived to
be important enough to get recorded.
• By the 19th century, positivism emerged. Positivism is a vital anchor of the
scientific method that asserts that real knowledge lies on actual
observation of facts.
• In history, positivism manifested with the mantra “no document, no
history.”
Lesson 1: Meaning of History

Issues and Questions: Discussion Points

• Positivist history further privileged the use of written or documentary
sources, consequently disenfranchising marginalized sectors who are not
always represented in written records.
• Historians recognized this problem and started using other kinds of
historical sources to include subjects and areas that are not in written
records. These sources include oral traditions, artifacts, architecture, and
memories.
• History grew as a complex discipline, and scholars who wanted to further
inquire about the nature and character of history delved into
historiography.
Lesson 1: Meaning of History

Issues and Questions: Discussion Points

• In simple terms, historiography is the history of history.
• Examples of historiographical questions are: How was a specific historical
text written? Who wrote it? What was the context of its publication? What
was the particular historical method employed? What were the sources
used?
• The use and function of history changed over time:
• Ancient Greeks: History was written for posterity and to enable humans to control
their destiny.
• Middle Ages: History was written to understand and expound on the divine plan.
Humans no longer need to control their destiny because God has already
predetermined it for them.
Lesson 1: Meaning of History

Issues and Questions: Discussion Points

• As history developed into a scientific discipline, historians argued that
history should not have a purpose other than studying it for its own sake.
This intellectual movement is called historicism.
• Historicists like Leopold von Ranke believed that assigning a purpose to
history makes its study biased. For von Ranke, the task of the historian is
“merely to show how things actually were.”
• However, this view assumes that the development of history and historians
who write it are totally unaffected by their contexts. Such is not true. The
emergence of new historical subdisciplines, like women’s history, labor
history, and environmental history, is a response to the need of the time.
Italian historian Benedetto Croce remarked, “All history is contemporary
history.”
Lesson 1: Meaning of History

Issues and Questions: Discussion Points

• However, social relevance and faithfulness to the past are not
incompatible with one another. There are several instances where the past
was distorted by various political entities to serve their agenda. Isn’t it the
duty of the historian to rescue the past from these distortions?
• History can provide people multiple ways to view, interpret, and respond to
current problems.
• History can make us learn from past mistakes, and it can also serve as a
repository of good ideas from the past.
• Finally, history helps us to acquire a sense of self-knowledge and self-
awareness.
Lesson 1: Meaning of History

Issues and Questions: Processing Questions

• How did the use of history change from the ancient Greek civilization to
the Middle Ages?
• What is positivist history and what are the criticisms against it?
• What is historicism?
• How is history as a discipline affected by its present context?
• What are some of the uses of history?
Lesson 1: Meaning of History

Issues and Questions: Answers

• For the ancient Greeks, history is written for posterity. It ought to help
humans to take control of their destiny. In the Middle Ages, history was
written to understand and explain the divine plan.
• Positivist history entails the use of documents or written sources as the
only legitimate historical sources. Critics argue that such method excludes
sectors who are not always reflected in written records.
• Historicism is the belief that history should only be studied for the sake of
the past and should not have any purpose other than for its own sake.
Lesson 1: Meaning of History

Issues and Questions: Answers

• However, the historical discipline develops according to present

conditions. New subdisciplines emerge in response to present-day issues.
Likewise, historians cannot be removed from their own contexts.
• Uses of history include enabling us to look, interpret, and respond to
particular problems in multiple ways. History also helps us learn from past
mistakes. It likewise serves as a repository of good ideas. Finally, history
allows us to acquire self-knowledge and self-awareness.
Lesson 1: Meaning of History
Summary

• History is the study of human activities in the past. This definition makes
history a unique discipline.
• The meaning and characteristics of history changed from the ancient
period to the present. These changes were dependent on the purposes
that history served.
• History is a scientific discipline that relies on different sources.
• Several issues revolve around the meaning and function of history as a
discipline. These issues relate to different aspects of the discipline, such
as meaning, method, and use.