Practice question · Multiple choice
Two historians work from an identical archive and write incompatible books. What does that show about the discipline?
Hints
- Ask what a complete account of a single day would look like, and how long it would take to read.
- Selection is forced. Does that make every selection equally good?
Show the answer
A. That selection is unavoidable, and choice is an argument
Why
A full description is impossible in principle, so choosing is the work rather than a failure of it, and the choices are defensible or not, which is what keeps option 3 from following. Two good books can disagree; neither is licensed to contradict the evidence, and that asymmetry is the discipline.
Practise What is History?
The app has 4 more questions on this lesson, and keeps your place in the course. History I is free to start.
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