Abstract

DIAZ, Bárbara. In search of truth: the task of historians?. Humanidades (Montevideo. En línea) [online]. 2022, n.12, pp.157-178.  Epub Dec 01, 2022. ISSN 1510-5024.  https://doi.org/10.25185/12.6.

The question of truth in historical knowledge has had different solutions in the course of time. There is a whole range of opinions, from those who consider it possible to revive the past and tell it as it was, to those who deny every possibility of truthfulness and think that history is a kind of fictional text. In this paper, I propose to analyse the problem from a philosophical point of view, starting from the theory of knowledge, but counting also with the reflections of some historians. I will begin with the problem of the reality of the past (I). I will then analyse knowledge as a relation between the thing known and the person who knows (II-IV) and address the issue of truth in history (V), and I will conclude with an answer to the posed question (VI).

Keywords : History; truth; knowledge.

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