Importance Of Knowledge In History

History, as a discipline, is different from other disciplines in the way by which we obtain knowledge. Obtaining knowledge in history occurs through the use of primary and secondary sources and analyzing them as well. The ways of knowing that we use in history are perception, reason, language and emotions. An example of how we use these ways of knowing could be the holocaust. Due to the huge amount of evidence it is just reasonable to believe that it took place. Also we use language in order to understand artifacts, diaries, journals etc. We use language not only to understand them and use their information but also to interpret and to teach them. Lastly, we could use reason, which could be translated as a motive or purpose, in order to make a good judgment out of a specific source. In this way we could understand why a specific event has happened and to what extent this source gives reliable information. In history, time could play an important role in revealing some documents. For example, the Non-Aggression Pact between Hitler and Stalin was signed in 1939 but was not revealed until 1941. In this example, we can see how time plays a role in revealing hidden agreements which were not declared at the time of the event and in this way, historians are able to understand what happened and why. Thus, we can see that as time increases and as more sources are revealed, the validity of knowledge increases.

However, this is not always the case when doubt interferes between