The reliability of history

To know the truth of history is to realize its ultimate myth and its inevitable ambiguity.
Roy P. Basler

I came to the realization that history as a subject is closely linked with Theory of Knowledge. History is based on the accounts and records of people from the past. How far can we trust that these accounts are accurate? When evaluating sources in history, we are asked to apply a lot of critical thinking in order to determine their value.

Take for instance the following source taken from my textbook, ‘The Origins of the First World War’ by Giles Pope:

He (Bethmann Hollweg) reverted to the theme of the growing hostility of England, France and Russia against Germany and the “iron ring” they were pressing round her. “An iron ring!” he repeated violently, shouting out the statement and waving his arm to the whole assembled company (of British and German government ministers at an official dinner). “England is embracing France. She is making friends with Russia. But it is not that you love each other; it is that you hate Germany!” And he repeated and literally shouted the word “hate” thrice.

                                                                 David Lloyd George War Memoirs

                     Ivor Nicholson & Watson (London, 1933) vol.1, pp.29-30

In those years, there was a lot of tension between the powers in Europe. David Lloyd George was the British Prime Minister at the time, and Bethmann Hollweg was the German Chancellor. There was a lot of tension particularly between Britain and Germany and they were in the middle of a Naval Arms Race. How far can I trust that Hollweg was indeed acting in the way that is described by Lloyd George? Lloyd George could in his memoirs be trying to justify his decisions as a politician at the time and the source would therefore not be very valuable. The source could also very much be biased exactly because it is a view of the British Prime Minister of the time and he could be trying to get Britain away from any blame of the First World War. However, the credibility of the source lies in that it is an extract from the first volume of his memoirs, which suggests that there are other volumes and that his account is therefore very detailed and likely to be accurate. Determining to what extent the knowledge and information contained in sources can be trusted is crucial in history as it is in Theory of Knowledge. I have therefore found Theory of Knowledge to be very useful in my history classes and assignments.