Readings in the Philippine History

CHAPTER 1
THE MEANING AND RELEVANCE OF
HISTORY, SOURCES OF HISTORICAL
DATA, AND HISTORICAL CRITICISMS
WHAT IS
HISTORY?
THE MEANING OF HISTORY
HISTORY is derived from the Greek word historia which means
learning by inquiry or investigation.

History is the chronological account of human affairs.

Historians use two approaches: factual history,
providing basic information about events, and
speculative history, which delves into reasons (why)
and the way events occurred (how). Speculative
history goes beyond facts to explore causes and effects
of events.
THE MEANING OF HISTORY

• History deals with the study of past events. Individuals who

write about history are called historians.
• The practice of historical writing is called historiography,
• The modern historical writing does not only include
examination of documents but also the use of research methods
from related areas of study such as archeology and geography.
THE LIMITATIONS OF HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE

• The incompleteness of records has limited man's knowledge of

history.
• The whole history of the past (called history-as-actuality) can
be known to a historian only through the surviving records
(history-as-record), and most of history; as-record is only a tiny
part the whole phenomenon.
• Historians study the records or evidences that survived the
time. They tell history from what they understood as a credible
part of the record.
 HISTORY AS THE SUBJECTIVE PROCESS
OF RE-CREATION

• Historians strive to reconstruct the total past of mankind using

available records and inferences, considering the diverse
experiences of people in different times and places. Unlike
natural sciences with objectively measurable phenomena,
history is subjective due to scattered documents and relics. The
historian's goal is verisimilitude, aiming for truth, authenticity,
and plausibility about the past, which involves interpreting
human testimonies alongside physical traces, distinguishing
them from certain natural scientists.
 HISTORICAL METHOO AND HISTORIOGRAPHY

Historical Method - The process of critically examining and

analyzing the records and survivals of the past.

Historiography- The imaginative reconstruction of the past from

the data derived by that process
Historical analysis involves selecting a subject, collecting
probable sources, examining their genuineness, and extracting
credible particulars. The synthesis of these particulars is
historiography, where synthesis and analysis are
interconnected, forming a common ground to understand the
past through meaningful connections between historical
issues and other contexts, periods, or themes.
HISTORICAL DATA - are sourced from artifacts that have
been left by the past. These artifacts can either be relics or
remains, or the testimonies of witnesses to the past.

Relics or "remains," whose existence offer researchers a clue

about the past.

Testimonies of witnesses, whether oral or written, may have

been created to serve as records or they might have been
created for some other purposes.
Distinction of Primary
and Secondary
Sources
 PRIMARY SOURCES
• Primary sources are
distinguished from secondary
sources, which cite, comment
on, or build upon primary
sources. Generally, accounts
written after the fact with the
benefit of hindsight are
secondary.
• A secondary source may also
be a primary source
depending on how it is used.
 SECONDARY
SOURCES
• are materials made by people
long after the events being
described had taken place to
provide valuable
interpretations of historical
events.

• a secondary source analyzes

and interprets primary
sources
 Primary Sources
• Original and factual, not
interpretative.
• Key function is to provide
facts.
• Provide raw information
and first hand evidence.
• More credible as
evidence.
• Examples include diaries,
photographs, journals,
letters, newspaper, etc.
VS. Secondary Sources
• Analyzes and interprets
primary sources.
• Valuable for understanding
different perspectives on
historical events
• Provide second-hand
information.
• Commentary from other
researchers.
• Examples include biographies,
history books, journal
articles, documentaries, etc.
 Historical Criticism:
Understanding the Origins and Meaning of Texts

a method for investigating the origins and meaning of ancient texts, particularly those with significant historical and/or
religious value (Soulen & Soulen, 2001).

Goals and Development:

• Aims to:
⚬ Discover the original meaning in its historical context (sensus
literalis historicus) (Soulen & Soulen, 2001).
⚬ Reconstruct the historical situation of the author and
audience (Ebeling, 1963).
• Emerged in the 17th century during the Protestant Reformation,
gaining prominence in the 19th and 20th centuries (Ebeling, 1963).
 Types of Historical
Criticism:
• External Criticism: • Internal Criticism:
Focuses on the origin and authenticity of Evaluates the content and message of the text,
the text, including: including:

⚬ Source Criticism: Identifying and

⚬ Provenance: Determining analyzing source materials used by the
authorship, origin, and sources author.
used. ⚬ Form Criticism: Determining the original
⚬ Palaeography: Deciphering and form and historical context of literary
dating manuscripts. units.
⚬ Diplomatic Criticism: Analyzing ⚬ Redaction Criticism: Examining the
the document's creation, author's role as editor of source materials,
information transmission, and ⚬ Tradition Criticism: Tracing the
factual accuracy. development of oral traditions.
⚬ Canonical Criticism: Interpreting the Bible
within the context of the biblical canon.
 Determining Authenticity:
• External Criticism: Identifies anachronisms,
inconsistencies, and forgeries through methods like
palaeography and diplomatic criticism (Gottschalk,
1969).

• Provenance: Establishing the document's origin (e.g.,

family archives or government records) can suggest
genuineness (Gottschalk, 1969).
 Repositories of Primary Sources
• NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF
THE PHILIPPINES

• NATIONAL LIBRARY OF
THE PHILIPPINES
 Repositories of Primary Sources
• NATIONAL HISTORICAL
COMMISSION OF THE
PHILS.

• NATIONAL MUSEUM OF
THE PHILS.
Repositories of Primary Sources
• U.P. MAIN LIBRARY

• ADMU RIZAL LIBRARY

Repositories of Primary Sources

• DLSU LIBRARY

• UST LIBRARY
Repositories of Primary Sources

• AMERICAN HISTORICAL
COLLECTION

• LOPEZ MEMORIAL
MUSEUM
Repositories of Primary Sources

• AYALA MUSEUM
DIFFERENT KINDS OF
PRIMARY SOURCES
ARTIFACTS

HUMAN FOSSILS
ROYAL DECREE &
LAWS OFFICIAL REPORTS
 References
https://www.flipkart.com/biographical-sources-united-states-classic-reprint/p/itmfyqfzhsqdqjhq

!""#$%&&'''($)*+,-()./&#*0$01"2"+.1&344563678&90#.$+".*+0$:.;:<*+/2*=:>.?*)0$@;,)A+-BC'D97?E?-FGHI;JKL$!MINO?PQRM0S!TU8V!W9XLY9X10<J>QZ>UZ[P6<N",3

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primary_sourc
e
THANK
YOU