Theory of Knowledge

_Elsa_

A half hour later Jean-Luc meets up with Tiffi who is helping a player.  Tiffi is almost finished helping the player clear the level so he waits for her to finish.

Level cleared and no more levels to clear so the two of them go for a walk. Jean-Luc tells Tiffi about his adventure in time traveling. She believes him because she remembers when she time travelled not too long ago and Chewy also did. 

Jean-Luc explains that as much as he wants to believe what the wizard and elderly man told him he still needs to find out if what he learned was the historical truth. They stop to get lunch and once they are done Jean-Luc takes out his phone to look for more articles on history. 

‘What is unique about the methodology of history? Is eyewitness testimony a reliable source of evidence? How do we decide which events are historically significant?

History is an area of knowledge that studies the recorded past. It raises knowledge questions such as whether it is possible to talk meaningfully about a historical fact and what such a fact might be, or how far we can speak with certainty about anything in the past. Studying history also deepens our understanding of human behaviour, as reflecting on the past can help us to make sense of the present.

Documentary evidence plays an important role in history, which raises questions about the basis for judgments of reliability of that evidence. The individual historian also plays an important role in history and in the 20th century there was much debate over whether historical facts exist independently of historians. Some argue that there is always a subjective element in historical writing because historians are influenced by the historical and social environment in which they are writing and this unavoidably affects their selection and interpretation of evidence.’ (Source)

“What is it really telling us?” asks Jean-Luc. “Look at the last sentence. They are influenced by the historical and social environment and that could affect their interpretation.  So what are we supposed to believe?”

Tiffi has no clue but wants to read more articles.

Let’s continue - Why is it Important to Study History?

Start at the beginning – What is the historical truth?