LESSON 1:

MEANINGS AND
RELEVANCE OF
HISTORY
 To understand the meaning of history
as an academic discipline and to be
familiar with the underlying
philosophy and methodology of the
discipline.
To examine and assess critically the
LEARNING value of historical evidences and
OBJECTIVES sources.

To appreciate the importance of

history in the social and national life
of the Philippines.
WHY STUDY HISTORY?

◦ An examination of the past can tell us a great deal

about how we came to be who we are. It means
looking at the roots of modern institutions, ideas,
values, and problems.
◦ Looking at the past teaches us to see the world through
different eyes- appreciating the diversity of human
perceptions, beliefs, and cultures. Different and/or new
perspectives will enable us to analyze critically the
present contexts of our society and beings.
THE DEFINITION AND SUBJECT MATTER

◦ History was derived from the Greek word historia which means
“knowledge acquired through inquiry or investigation”.
◦ History as a disciplined existed for around 2, 400 years and is as
old as mathematics and philosophy.
◦ This term was then adapted to classical Latin where it acquired a
new definition. Historia became known as the account of the past
of a person or a group of people through written documents
and historical evidences. That meaning stuck until the early
parts of the twentieth century. History became an important
discipline. It became the historian’s duty to write about the lives of
important individuals like monarchs, heroes, saints , and nobilities.
THE DEFINITION AND SUBJECT MATTER

◦ History was also focused on writing wars, revolutions,

and other important breakthroughs. It is thus important
to ask: What counts as history? Traditional historians
lived with the mantra “no document, no history”. It
means that unless a written document can prove a
certain historical event, then it cannot be considered as a
historical fact.
◦ But as any other academic disciplines, history progressed
and opened up to the possibility of valid historical
sources, which were not limited to written documents,
like government records, chroniclers’ accounts, or
personal letters.
THE DEFINITION AND SUBJECT MATTER

◦ Giving premium to written documents essentially

invalidates the history of other civilizations that do not
keep written records. Some were keener on passing their
history by word of mouth. Others got their historical
documents burned or destroyed in the events of war or
colonization.
◦ Restricting historical evidence as exclusively written is
also discrimination against other social classes who
were not recorded in paper. Nobilities, monarchs, the
elite, and even the middle class would have their birth,
education, marriage, and death as matters of
government and historical record.
THE DEFINITION AND SUBJECT MATTER

◦ Peasant families or indigenous groups who were not

given much thought about being registered to
government records? Does the absence of written
documents about them mean they were people of no
history or past? Did they even exist?
◦ This loophole was recognized by historians who started
using other kinds of historical sources, which may not be
in written form but were just as valid. A few examples
are oral traditions in forms of epics and songs, artifacts,
architecture, and memory. History thus became more
inclusive and started collaborating with other disciplines
as its auxiliary disciplines.
 History is defined as a documented record of man
and his society. (Gray, 1956, pp.1-3).

As a field of study, history is a study of man and

his achievements from the beginning of written
Other records to the present.
Definitions of As a literary form of history is an effective
History: presentation of the unfolding events. But as a type
of literature history falls under non- fiction work.

History comes from social history which defines it

as a record of events showing the evolution of man
and his society from the earliest and from the age
of barbarism to what he is today.
 Why don’t we learn from history?
(An excerpt from Lidell Hart, 1971)
What is the objective of history?
One would simply answer, quite
simply - “truth”. It is a word and an
Understanding idea that has gone out of fashion.
History The object might be more cautiously
expressed thus: to find out what
happened while trying to find out
why it happened. It seeks the casual
relations between events.
 History has limitations as a guiding
signpost; although it can show us the
right direction, it does not give detailed
information about the road conditions.
But its negative value as a warning sign
is more definite. History can show us
what to avoid, even if it does not teach
us what to do - by showing the most
common mistakes that mankind is apt to
make and to repeat.
Understanding
A second object lies in the practical
History value of history. The knowledge gained
from the study of true history is the best
of all education for practical life. The
study of history embraces every aspect
of life. It lays the foundation of education
by showing how mankind repeats its
errors and what those errors are.
 A. History provides a source of personal and
social identity.
B. History helps us understand the problems of
Importance and Uses the present.
of History C. History – good history – corrects misleading
Importance and Uses analogies and “lessons” of the past.
of History D. History can help one develop tolerance and
Given are the uses of open-mindedness
history as summarized E. History helps us better understand all human
by Foray and Salevouris behaviors and all aspects of the human
(1988). Some of these condition.
F. History provides the basic background for
are interestingly many disciplines.
explained by B.H. G. History can be a source of entertainment.
Lidedell Hart (1971). H. History, when studied, can teach many
critical skills.
Below is a definition of history by Zeus A. Salazar (1999). Examine it carefully then answer the questions following the
definition.

“Ang KASAYSAYAN ay SALAYSAY hinggil sa nakaraan o nakalipas na

may SAYSAY – kahulugan, katuturan, at kabuluhan – sa SARILING
LIPUNAN at KULTURA o kabuuang kinabibilangan. Ito ay iniuulat gamit
ang mga konsepto at kategorya ng sariling kultura.”
1. What does the author mean or imply by “Ang kasaysayan ay salaysay…
na may saysay sa sariling lipunan at kultura”?
2. The statement. “Ito (referring to kasaysayan) ay iniuulat gamit ang
mga konsepto at kategorya ng sariling kultura, implies who should
write a people’s history. What issues would emerge from (1) a history
of people written and interpreted by an “outsider” (a foreign
historian); and, (2) a history of people analyzed and presented by an
“insider” (a local historian)?