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External and Internal Criticism

External criticism refers to analyzing the authenticity and genuineness of historical documents, determining if they have been fabricated or forged. This involves analyzing the date, authorship, style, references, custody, and meaning of words. Internal criticism analyzes the accuracy and credibility of the contents of documents, determining if details are plausible based on other sources. It involves identifying the author to assess reliability, determining the date, ability and willingness to tell the truth, and corroborating details with other evidence. Effective historical thinking considers multiple causes of events, understands the context, and recognizes how aspects can remain continuous while others experience change.

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Kristelle Llega
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425 views17 pages

External and Internal Criticism

External criticism refers to analyzing the authenticity and genuineness of historical documents, determining if they have been fabricated or forged. This involves analyzing the date, authorship, style, references, custody, and meaning of words. Internal criticism analyzes the accuracy and credibility of the contents of documents, determining if details are plausible based on other sources. It involves identifying the author to assess reliability, determining the date, ability and willingness to tell the truth, and corroborating details with other evidence. Effective historical thinking considers multiple causes of events, understands the context, and recognizes how aspects can remain continuous while others experience change.

Uploaded by

Kristelle Llega
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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EXTERNAL

AND
INTERNAL
CRITICISMS
What is Historical Criticism?
1. External
Criticism
2. Internal Criticism
External Criticism

❖It refers
to the genuineness of the
documents a researcher uses in a
historical study.
❖It has to do with the authenticity
of a document.
What is External Criticism?

❖The
problem
of authenticity. ❖To spot
fabricated, forged, faked
documents.
❖To distinguish a hoax or
misrepresentation.
Tests of Authenticity

1. Determine the date of the document


to see whether they are
anachronistic.
2. Determine the author.
3.Anachronistic style - e.g. idiom,
orthography, punctuation can be detected by
specialist who are familiar with
contemporary writing.

4.Anachronistic reference to events -an act


of attributing a custom, event, or object to a
period to which it does not belong.
5. Provenance or custody – determines its
genuineness

6. Semantics- determining the meaning of a text or


word

7. Hermeneutics - determining ambiguities


(inexactness) and is concerned with problems that
arise when dealing with meaningful human actions
and the products of such actions, most importantly
texts.
Internal Criticism

❖It
refers to
the
accuracy of the contents of a
document.
❖It has to do with what the
document says.
What is Internal Criticism?

❖The Problem of Credibility


❖Relevant particulars in the document – is it
credible?
❖Verisimilar - as close as what really
happened from a critical examination of
best available sources
Tests of Credibility
1.Identification of the author - to
determine his reliability; mental
processes, personal attitudes

2.Determination of the approximate


date - e.g. handwriting, signature, seal
3. Ability to tell the truth - e.g. nearness to
the event, competence of witness, degree of
attention
4. Willingness to tell the truth- e.g.
to determine if the author consciously or
unconsciously tells falsehoods
5. Corroboration - i.e. historical facts –
particulars which rest upon the independent
testimony of two or more reliable witnesses

Three Major Components


to Effective Historical
Thinking
1.

Sensitivity to Multiple Causation


2. Sensitivity to Context
3. Awareness of the interplay of continuity and
change in human affairs

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