What's more important to studying and understanding history?

>>677994
Fact.

We can argue all day about who was right or who "wanted the best" for their people, but the only thing we can empirically test is historical fact. Interpretation comes afterwards.

Fact, in my opinion, but my friend flat out told me I was wrong and that history was all about interpretating things

>>678021
>Empirically test a historical fact
That's the one this we can't do at all.

>>677994
Interpretation, because the vast majority of material a historian relies upon to study and understand history is already interpretive, including primary sources themselves.

For the other question, all of the above. Coming at a subject from multiple angles is very useful.

>>677994
Interpretation, because you need it even to decide what 'the facts' are.

Empiricism.

>>677994
Interpretation, due to inherent bias.

Without different interpretations, it might not be a fact.

If there's no possibilities of it becoming a fact, an interpretation is meaningless.

Empiricism>Realism>Rationalism>Relativism

>>677994

Interpretation to try and work out what the facts are.

>>677994
Nice troll thread. 9/10.

>>681110
not a troll thread, genuinely curious

>>681120
>What's more important to studying and understanding history?

Reading.

>Fact or interpretation?

Facts don't exist, only interpretations exist.

The way we understand history is through documents, texts. Even "oral" records are documentary. Even physical remains are interpreted into texts when we examine them.

There is no "fact" lying behind the world for us to uncover in the discipline of history. Just competing readings, some of which seem convincing.

>Empiricism, realism or relativism?

U wot? This is a completely disconnected set of ideas, none of which have very much meaning to historiographical debates. The chief debates tend to regard whether there is teleos (a deep order with direction), how theory relates to sources (does theory lie in the sources?), and how social relationships ("nation" etc) work in practice.

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>>681142
>Facts don't exist

>>681183
I told you it was a troll thread.