READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

Name: Chokde Hudierez

Course: Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy

The term history was derived from Greek word "historia" w/c means inquiry or knowledge acquired
from investigation. History is the study of the past as it is described in written documents. It provides the
analysis and interpretation of the human past enabling us to study continuity and changes that take
place over time.

Explain the definitions of history provided by some historians. 10 points each.

1. History is the record of what one age finds worthy of note in another. Burckhardt.

Jacob Burckhardt’s definition of history specific in that an historian must observe the facts and
determine what is important, but it also implies that what each of these historians deems “worthy of
note” is inevitably going to be an ever-changing thing.

Every historian will have a special selection, a different criterion for what is worth communicating,
according to his nationality, subjectivity, training, and period.” The original title of Force and Freedom.

2. History in its broadest sense, is everything that ever happened. Henry Johnson

The materials to be studied are the traces left by his existence in the world. The present personal
memories, present habits, present ideals, present social customs and institutions, language, literature,
material products of human history, physical man himself, the physical remains of man, his thoughts,
feelings and actions.

3. The value and interest of history depend largely on the degree in which the present is illuminated by
the past. V.S. Smith

The present, after all, is the result of the past and the future would be the consequence of the present.
It is, therefore, very important for any populace to know ‘what it had been’, ‘what it is now’ and ‘what it
is yet to be’? This is a set of universally relevant questions involving the future of the entire humanity,
for the human race is yet to flourish to its full potential.
4. History is the story of man's struggle through the ages against Nature and the elements; against
wild beasts and the jungle and some of his own kind who have tried to keep him down and to exploit
him for their benefit. Jawaharlal Nehru

In order to live, certain things, like food and shelter and clothing in cold climates are necessary, those
who have controlled these necessities have lorded it over man. The rulers and the bosses have had
authority because they owned or controlled some essential of livelihood, and this control gave them the
power to starve people into submission. And so we see the strange sight of large masses being exploited
by the comparatively few; of some who earn without working at all, and of vast numbers who work but
earn very little.

5. Why is it more credible and reliable to use the primary source?

It is not in every case. One can use primary sources for research, but they should be balanced with a
number of secondary sources, so you get a balanced view of how the consensus on the meaning of the
primary source information is being received. That way you also get the context, instead of being a thin
secondary source yourself.