Why history can never be objective 23 Articles

by Ben Hughes

Is history always subjective? Surely there are elements which are objective, otherwise studying history would be nothing more than one person's view against another. Put it this way, we know that there have been two Wor...read more

by Peabody Snickersbee

Why history can never be objective? While I disagree with the exaggerations of the post-modernists who claim all history is fiction, I would agree that objectivity in history is beyond our grasp. The simple reason fo...read more

by Gina Lawton

One thing that makes us uniquely "human" is our ability to add personal perspective to all things. This fact became amazingly clear to me as I watched the "I-videos" sent to CNN concerning the recent bridge tragedy in Min...read more

by Darrell Miller

Conquerers knock off the heads of statues, destroy magnificent temples (such as Athena's temple in Athens), destroy books and tablets (such as the Alexandria library and Mayan tablets}. They then rewrite history making the...read more

by Carol Noble

I would love to think that history can be objective. The father away from the actual event we are the easier it is to be emotionally distant. When we are closer to the time period in question we find it difficult to say ...read more

by Mark Hopkins

History can never be fully objective. Of course good academics will always strive to cast aside their own prejudices, but they are only human and their personal biases will come out in their work to some extent. 'Histor...read more

by Gemma Wiseman

History is both the actual events that happened in the past AND the study of them. The events themselves are "objects", tangible realities. But the historian's interpretation of them, involving the cause and the effect in ...read more

by Santi Meintjes

Scientists, and those who know too well the vagaries of fate (the two are naturally not mutually exclusive), usually wince when they see the careless use of the word "never", or variations thereof. Somewhere there is a fo...read more

by Sherrie Smith

History is evidence put down on paper, but the interpretation of that evidence is what makes it unobjective. Yes, dates, places, and persons can be substantiated, but the why cannot be. The whys are opinions - unobjective ...read more

by Juan Leer

As George Orwell wrote, "Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past." It is in this way that history can never be truly objective. Those who are in control in the present will ...read more

by Steven Daly

Whether history can ever be objective or not boils down to the question, 'Is history of any value to us or not?'. The argument that history can't be in any way objective leaves the historian as a mere agent of fiction. A s...read more

by Paul O Meara

History is written by the victors. All accounts of our past come down to us through the tomes of men who wrote to please their audiences. The kings and lords who were their patrons. This is a generalization but at its hear...read more

by David Bochito

History Can Be Permanently Established True history can be recalled accurately only if it is recordedusing metaphorin music, poetry and plays. History becomes established, and is much more d...read more

by Peter Pogany

Thermodynamic Perspective on the Human Journey A Contribution to the Debate Concerning Historical Objectivity Philosophy, literary criticism, historiography, and the entire postmodern-inspired argumentative intellectua...read more

by David Houston

Often when children are taught history in schools the information studied is rarely questioned regarding the objectiveness of its source. Having recently watched a program on the search for the family of Jesus Christ, it o...read more

by Uzitotinbaby

Objectivity requires one to remove their personal convictions and beliefs when analyzing things. Human beings have a difficult time doing this, especially very intelligent human beings, such as those who write and teach h...read more

by Steve Paulsson

Excuse me? I'm professional historian, and I beg to differ. (Check out my credentials at www.SecretCityBook.com). I tell my students: history is like CSI. You dig up evidence, you form hypotheses (i.e. suspects), they ...read more

by Jan Scott

I disagree with the gentleman, who may be a professional historian but I still feel is perhaps missing the point a little. History is largely a subjective discipline and I feel in many ways that is it's fascination. Tak...read more

by Clifford H. Colpitts Jr.

History can be objective: the facts themselves are clear, it's the historians who change the facts. A true historian has to be objective because the moment the concrete information is changed into something else, the writ...read more

by Gregg Newby

There is a widespread tendency on the part of scholars and writers to dismiss the notion of objectivity in historical writing. In an absolute sense they are correct, of course. True objectivity is impossible in any pursuit...read more