Pertaining to the Methodology of Constructing Historical Knowledge, What Is the Nature of Historical Enquiry?

Pertaining to the methodology of constructing historical knowledge, what is the nature of historical enquiry?

Introduction

Compared to science, historical knowledge seems to lack the level of epistemic scrutiny needed for something to be considered knowledge. A subject open to many different interpretations and varying levels of reliability, history is often seen as inferior compared to science.

For this essay, I have chosen to use the Vietnam War as a case study. By examining historical methodology through this war, I believe that this will then unearth its nature, and prove why history, though biased, is still knowledge.

Criticism of Historical Knowledge

Sources are foundational in history: without them, we cannot claim to have historical knowledge. (Collingwood, 1994) While there are instances of reliable, genuine sources, they could also be fabricated. Therefore, criticism must be undergone before these sources can be used as justification.

Source Criticism

Source criticism compares different sources in order to justify the reliability of each source.

When two sources disagree on a particular point, the historian will prefer the source with most "authority" - - i.e. the source created by the expert or by the eyewitness. (Howell & Prevenier, 2001)

It is natural to assume that the source with more authority is more reliable. Oxford defines ‘having something on good authority’ as ‘being able to believe something because you trust the person’, i.e. that person is reliable. This implies that even though there could be contrary evidence, the ‘more reliable’ source will eventually be accepted as part of historical fact. A simple example would be the spraying of Agent Orange as part of Operation Ranch Hand during the war. For many years, the US government has refused to take responsibility for millions of American and Vietnamese victims. (Flores, 2011)

Eyewitness accounts are more reliable than the US government, which...