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Ethical Implications of Historiography
Week 8
In his essay “Historians and their Duties,” Jonathan Gorman supplies historians with a precise guideline to pursue their ethical and moral responsibilities. Throughout the essay, Gorman relates the philosophical aspects with historiographical implications. According to the author, it is indispensable for historians to understand their accountability toward the craft of history and its audience. In this context, it is imperative to abide by truth, and to the moral philosophical obligations while connecting the past with the present through their writings. Gorman sketches a detailed picture through which historians could comprehend the philosophy behind historiography. In due course, propositions of several renowned philosophers are elaborated. Gorman includes standpoints of Plato, Aristotle, Kant, and utilitarian approach and Vincent Barry to explicate the moral framework for historians.
Plato says that moral falling take place because of ignorance and therefore historians should think accurately.
Aristotle says that moral failings are the consequences of desires, and thus, historians should differentiate between right and wrong.
Kant supports the idea of free will
Utilitarian approach strives for the morally correct action for the sake of greater good
Vincent Barry asserts the need for considering important aspects and determines the preferences.
In light of all these factors when it is asked what the responsibility of the historian is? One thing is evident that historians' principal obligation is to adhere with truth for the sake of their stakeholders. Yeah, like every business history has its stakeholders that include readers, scholars, the academic and general public, history students, and all the upcoming generation. And in order to serve them with a solid piece of history, historians have to evade the peril of concerning legal and political influences in their account of recollections. And only deliver the truth.
Bibliography:
Gorman, Jonathan. "Historians and Their Duties." History and Theory43, no. 4 (2004): 103-17. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2303.2004.00300.x.
Research Skill Building
Throughout the HIST500 course, we have handed over with different tasks and assignments that involved the use of both primary and secondary resources, along with our personal reflection on some significant issues. During this well-developed and well-delivered course, I learned to make a precise difference between primary and secondary recourses and comprehended the critical nature of tripartite sources as well (it was a new concept for me). While I was working on my preliminary annotated bibliography, I was not sure about the preferred sources, and I literally added a few encyclopedias as references. However, I admit that I am not an expert and I am sure that I must have made mistakes in my research proposal as well, but I am confident that I have learned a lot form this course. I learned the essential components of primary sources and learned how to analyze them and learned to evaluate secondary sources to seek the answers. I learned the idea of biases in primary and secondary sources and discovered that official documentation and similar material could provide accurate information to some extent. I hope to utilize all these skills in my upcoming courses and studies as I have planned to do a Ph.D. in the future.
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