HOW DO WE VERIFY THE KNOWLEDGE OF HUMANITY'S EXPERIENCES?
CRITICAL HISTORY
Critical history is history studied within a critical realism perspective.
It acknowledges the fickle relationship between reality and the truth in the present, and acknowledges that it only gets more difficult to determine truth the further away from the present that you go.
CRITICAL REALISM & HISTORY
CRITICAL REALISM
WHY CRITICAL HISTORY?
WHY CRITICAL HISTORY?
Critical realism is a philosophical approach that distinguishes between the real and the observable.
It views reality as an iceberg, with most of reality beneath the surface below what can be perceived by humans.
As such, we need to be cautious and clever about how we all understand reality ourselves and how we communicate about reality with others.
WHY CRITICAL HISTORY?
WHY CRITICAL HISTORY?
WHY CRITICAL HISTORY?
If humanity can't understand what's happening in the present because it's only seeing the tip of the iceberg, then it's only harder to understand the past based on limited drawings of that iceberg.
Taking a critical approach to history allows us to avoid the pitfalls of asserting any one event or perspective of it is the correct one. It al
If humanity can't understand what's happening in the present because it's only seeing the tip of the iceberg, then it's only harder to understand the past based on limited drawings of that iceberg.
Taking a critical approach to history allows us to avoid the pitfalls of asserting any one event or perspective of it is the correct one. It also encourages us to consider how cultural differences in how things are perceived and recorded may lead to inaccurate interpretations.
CULTURAL LENSES
WHY CRITICAL HISTORY?
CULTURAL LENSES
Critical history ultimately tells us "the drawing of the iceberg isn't the iceberg, and all that is being drawn is the tip."
As such, there are questions we need to ask to verify the cultural lens of society and time from which a historical record is from instead of reading it as if all of the words and phrasings have the same connotation
Critical history ultimately tells us "the drawing of the iceberg isn't the iceberg, and all that is being drawn is the tip."
As such, there are questions we need to ask to verify the cultural lens of society and time from which a historical record is from instead of reading it as if all of the words and phrasings have the same connotation as modern society.
To do this, we need as many diverse perspectives as possible, not a single authoritative one.