Abstract
Source-based knowledge is drawn from historical sources in the sense of sources for a given problem. There is, however, a general concept of historical source in addition to that restricted to a given issue.1 The general concept is used by historians when they try to define a historical source in general. E. Bernheim gave two different definitions of a historical source, the first of which has so far been disregarded (except by J. Giedymin); it refers to sources in general as “the material from which our science draws cognition”.2 The second, more expanded, says that sources are “results of human activity which either by their very destination or by their very existence, origin or other circumstances are particularly suited to inform about and to verify historical facts”.3 A similar definition is given by many German scholars who in that respect follow Bernheim quite obviously.4 Ch. V. Langlois and Ch. Seignobos follow their famous statement that “l’histoire se fait avec de documents”by the formulation that “they are traces left by human thought and needs in the past (d’autre-fois)”.5
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References
Cf. J. Giedymin, Z problemów logicznych (…), ed. cit., pp. 45–6.
E. Bemheim, Lehrbuch der historischen Methode, ed. 5/6, Leipzig 1908, p. 252. “Das Material, woraus unsere Wissenschaft ihre Erkenntniss schöpft nennen wir schlechthin ‘Quellen’ ”.
Ibid., p. 252. “Quellen sind Resultate menschlicher Betätigungen, welche zur Erkenntniss und zum Nachweis geschichtlicher Tatsachen entweder ursprünglich bestimmt oder vermöge ihrer Existenz, Entstehung und sonstiger Verhältnisse vorzugsweise geeignet sind”.
For instance, A. Feder, Lehrbuch der geschichtlichen Methode, Regensburg 1924, p. 84.
Ch. V. Langlois and Ch. Seignobos, Introduction aux études historiques, Paris 1898, p. 1.
M. Handelsman, Historyka (The Methodology of History), 2nd ed., War-szawa 1922, p. 44.
S. Kościałkowski, Historyka (The Methodology of History), ed. cit., p. 22.
G. Labuda, “Próba nowej systematyki i nowej interpretacji źródeł histo-rycznych”(A Tentative New Systematization and New Interpretation of Historical Sources), Studia Źródloznawcze, vol. 1, Warszawa 1957, p. 22.
J. Giedymin, Z problemów logicznych analizy historycznej (Some Logical Issues in Historical Analyses), ed. cit., pp. 25–6.
Some definitions are not clear. This applies, e.g., to that suggested by C. Bobinska: “Social facts of a durable material substance (…) become sources for historians”. (Historyk. Fakt. Metoda (The Historian. The Fact. The Method), p. 59.
J. Giedymin, op. cit., p. 11.
J. Lelewel, Dziela (Collected Works), vol. II(1), p. 180.
J. G. Droysen, Historik, München u. Berlin 1943, p. 37.
E. Bernheim, Lehrbuch der historischen Methode, ed. cit., pp. 255–9.
J. Giedymin, op. cit., p. 24.
They are analysed in detail by G. Labuda, op. cit., pp. 11 ff, who also carries out a critical analysis of E. Bernheim’s classification. The shortcomings of his criticism have been demonstrated by J. Giedymin, op. cit., pp. 7-27.
M. Handelsman, op. cit., pp. 44–5.
E. Bernheim, however, did use the terms: direct and indirect sources.
S. Kościałkowski, op. cit., pp. 24, 52.
G. Labuda, op. cit., pp. 3–52.
Cf. J. Giedymin, op. cit., pp. 26–7.
Cf. J. Giedymin and J. Kmita, Wyklady z logiki formalnej (…) (Lectures on Formai Logic …), p. 71. There are also other definitions of a code.
M. Bloch, Apologie pour l’histoire ou métier d’historien, ed. cit., p. 80: “Les documents tendent à imposer leur nomenclature; l’historien, s’il les écoute, écrit sous la dictée d’une époque chaque fois différente. Mais il pense d’autre part, naturellement, selon les catégories de son propre temps; par suite, avec les mots de celui-ci”.
M. Bloch, op. cit., p. 82: “Aussitót, par contre, qu’apparaissent des institutions, des croyances, des coutumes, qui participent plus profondement à la vie propre d’une société, la transposition dans une autre langue, faite à l’image d’une société différente, devient une entreprise grosse de périls. Car choisir l’équivalent, c’est postuler une ressemblance”.
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Topolski, J. (1976). Theory of Source-Based Knowledge. In: Methodology of History. Synthese Library, vol 88. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-1123-5_17
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