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"HISTORIAN AS DETECTIVE, THE" (ED. ROBIN WINKS).
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Critical review of essays on gathering, assessing & interpreting historical evidence.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Critical review of essays on gathering, assessing & interpreting historical evidence.

Paper Introduction:
Historical Research and the Philosophy of History Most of the essays in the book, The Historian as Detective, approach history from a somewhat scientific outlook. The authors of these essays deal with the problems of historical research and constructing a puzzle from a pool of tiny pieces, which are not all present. In this sense, the authors look at historical research as a scientific problem which must be solved by gathering and examining all of the evidence. Some of the authors deal with gathering these pieces, looking for hidden objects. Other authors deal with interpreting the evidence properly, keeping the valuable items while throwing out the worthless ones. The title of the book reflects the editor's bent: looking to the detective's vocation in fashioning an approach to historical evidence gathering and interpretation. Th

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This last method makes use of thehistorian's particular abilities in analyzing evidence, while the othermethods have more to do with the detective's craft.[vii] In the third part of his book, Winks discusses the evaluation ofevidence once it is collected. New York: Harper & Row, 1968.Beaglehole, J. The autobiographer usually records pastevents with the idea that there is little or no interpretation needed,besides that which is self-evident to himself or herself. Altick is particularlyfond of lawyers' offices, for they often contain the private, andunpublished, papers of famous clients. In the fourth part of the book, Winks tackles the issue ofinterpretation. The Secret of the Ebony Cabinet: A Search for 'Lost' Manuscripts." In The Historian as Detective: Essays in Evidence, ed. This was done bycomparing the views expressed in the purported letters with those expressedin previously verified writings. Such information might also be found ingovernment archives and other offices which collect official filings.[vi] After a historian collects his evidence, or even while he does so, hemust verify that the evidence is genuine and accurate. For instance, the practice of omittingpornographic references from the writings of historical figures (such asBenjamin Franklin) during the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuriesdenied later readers the ability to see some of the more human sides ofthese figures' characters. As noted in the previous paragraphs, evidence gatheringsimply involves finding all the evidence available from whatever sourcepossible. Altick shows how some mysteriesin literary history have been either solved or illuminated by new lightthrough the discovery of sources in unusual places. Beaglehole's account of CaptainCook's death. In all of the cases presented, the historians did not contentthemselves with looking at just a few items of evidence or with looking atthe items in brief. In fact, one of the most important tasksof a historian is interpreting the evidence found, answering not only thequestions Who, What, When, Where, and How, but also Why. Otherauthors deal with interpreting the evidence properly, keeping the valuableitems while throwing out the worthless ones. Winks notes thatindividuals seldom see themselves as others see them. Collingwood statesthat the scientific historian does not ask whether the girl's statement istrue, but why she would make such a statement.[i] A similar essay is that of Winks himself, who comparesautobiographies with biographies. They tend tofollow trends in historical writing, fashioning works which are similar tothose published by other historians at the same time. In this sense, theauthors look at historical research as a scientific problem which must besolved by gathering and examining all of the evidence. C. "Who Killed John Doe? The problem this presents future historianswho look to the previous works for guidance is that the omitted aspects maybe important to their analysis. The first stop is the collection of an author'smanuscripts, usually located in a specific library or in the family home.The scholar must then search every conceivable source for hitherto unknownworks. While evidencegathering is a largely objective task, interpretation is an inherentlysubjective one. New York: Harper & Row, 1968.Nevins, Allan. Of course, thiscan be a dangerous task.[xi] Winks first uses the example of J. Cook ended up shooting a man and washimself killed when returning to his landing boat. "The Case of the Man in Love: Forgery, Impure and Simple." In The Historian as Detective: Essays in Evidence, ed. These examples are intended to show thatin formulating an interpretation a historian must not ignore any relevantevidence and must not ignore any other possible interpretations. Both sets of professionals seek truths which areusually hidden from view by accumulating and interpreting whatever evidenceis available. "The Pleasures of Doubt: Reenacting the Crime." In The Historian as Detective: Essays in Evidence, ed. Winks, 194-212. Beaglehole then embarks on a detailed account of thecircumstances surrounding this last voyage to support his conclusion thatCook was weary on this voyage. Thus, ahistorian cannot simply tell a story in a narrative style, expectingeveryone to accept his interpretation as the only one possible withoutshowing why his interpretation is the best. Robin W. Historical Research and the Philosophy of History Most of the essays in the book, The Historian as Detective, approachhistory from a somewhat scientific outlook. Some historians assert that interpretation should be left out of theprocess entirely; a historian should only report the "facts" as he or shefinds them. Collingwood uses the term "testimony" torefer to the questioning process which a historian must apply to evidence.He says that the historian must question all of this evidence in his ownmind, asking himself whether the fits together and what it means. In fact, true historical analysis is based upon all the evidencefound, not just a few pieces which seem to be the most relevant.[iii] At this point in his book, Winks brings up the interesting issue ofwhether a historian ought to be bound by some ethical considerations inobtaining evidence. Winks, 28 -3 2. C. The Problem of Testimony," in The Historian as Detective: Essays in Evidence, ed. One group of scholars seems to prefer theadversarial method, where evidence is put to the "courtroom" test ofattack. Both use essentially the same kinds of methods of gatheringand validating evidence. Families often dispose of or hide their famous ancestors'manuscripts when such works expose unpopular affectations or indiscretions. Numerous instancesof forgery color historical evidence gathered through the ages,particularly when the documents purport to originate with individuals whohave achieved fame in the extreme, such as Abraham Lincoln. Winks, 513-22. In his essay,Paul Angle recounts the detective work involved in debunking purported loveletters between Abraham Lincoln and Ann Rutledge. Robin W. There will alwaysbe new evidence and new interpretations of old evidence. New York: Harper & Row, 1968.-----. He notes thateducated men tend to remember wrongly much of the time when trying todescribe an exciting incident. New York: Harper & Row, 1968.Jerome, Thomas Spencer. Interpretingthat evidence, however, is a completely different story. He uses theexample of a detective investigating a murder. There is no real subjective element to this process, aside fromdetermining the validity and accuracy of the evidence found. Robin W. Orshould the historian admit to purely secular motives?[iv] Winks illustrates this dilemma with some famous examples in literaryscholarship. "The Case of Eyewitnesses: A Lie Is a Lie, Even in Latin." In The Historian as Detective: Essays in Evidence, ed. Throughout his book, Winks linked historians to detectives inmotivation and methods. Winks, 39-6 . In an unabashed display of elitism, Jeromefigures that uneducated men probably do even worse, since they are not usedto the mental effort asked of them.[viii] Similarly, the written word isnot to be automatically trusted for its veracity, since in its best form itmay rely upon eyewitness accounts and in its worst form may consist ofnothing but forgery.[ix] Winks concludes this section of the book by admitting that thehistorian is skeptical by nature. Winks, 61-64. And Winks providessome examples where a historian could fun afoul of ethical considerations.For instance, he notes that historian gathering evidence from privatepapers often runs into the dilemma of misrepresentation. However, Winks seeks to disabuse the buddinghistorian of any notion that this is what history is all about. Winks, 182-91. Or, works may be sold for money or simply stored and forgotten.[v] Winks uses Richard Altick's essay to point out the importance oflooking literally everywhere for evidence. Following the saying on apopular detective/science fiction television show, detectives are convincedthat "the truth is out there." According to Winks and other historians,however, those involved in the study of history must not only be satisfiedwith the fact that they shall never know the truth, they must revel in it.True historians, according to Winks and Robin Collingwood, love their workbecause they know that they shall never know the truth. Winks, on the other hand, points out that even "reporting thefacts" contains a subjective element. Robin W. In all of the cases, the historians delved deeplyinto the individual pieces of evidence in order to deduce the subjects'states of mind at the particular moments in question. C. Such legal papers can show acompletely different aspect of a person's character, or provide newinformation on old controversies. Angle, "The Case of the Man in Love: Forgery, Impure and Simple," in Winks, Historian as Detective, 127-41.[viii]Thomas Spencer Jerome, "The Case of Eyewitnesses: A Lie Is a Lie, Even in Latin," in Winks, Historian as Detective, 182-91.[ix]Allan Nevins, "The Case of the cheating Documents: False Authority and the Problem of Surmise," in Winks, Historian as Detective, 194-212.[x]Winks, 271-76.[xi]Winks, 279-8 .[xii]J. As Beaglehole says,there has always been a mystery as to why the events turned out as badly asthey did, considering Cook's reputation as a humanitarian and peacefulnegotiator. "The Case of the Needless Death: Reconstructing the Scene." In The Historian as Detective: Essays in Evidence, ed. He notes that historians, along with allhuman beings, are shaped by the times in which they live. Should he or shelie to a family about how the papers are going to be used? He saysthat the historian works by "accretion," accumulating mountains of evidenceand sifting through all of it, ignoring nothing when constructing hisanalysis. Winks, 89-1 3. All of these examples involve the accumulation ofenormous amounts of evidence and the use of this evidence in formulatingcauses and conclusions. Robin W. This is one of the more controversial areas of historicalresearch and is where many historians get into trouble. And both use similar methods of interpreting theevidence in order to reach the truth. Cook decided totake the ruling chief back to his ship as a hostage, to be exchanged forthe missing cutter. New York: Harper & Row, 1968.Collingwood, Robin. Cook had landed here before and had been receivedwarmly enough. The quest is theultimate joy, not the accomplishment of the quest's goals.[xiii] Notes BibliographyAltick, Richard D. Winks, 127-41. Thus, there islittle self-awareness on the part of most autobiographers and theiranalyses usually suffer.[ii] Winks devotes one whole section to the discovery of "missingevidence," historical evidence which may lead to the most pertinentanalysis. However, Cook and his men were resisted when they wentashore on the hostage-taking mission. "The Mystery of Marie Roget, and Other Diversions: Another Search of Lost Manuscripts." In The Historian as Detective: Essays in Evidence, ed. The methods employedincluded comparing handwriting examples and cross-checking the birthdatesof reputed witnesses (to verify that those witnesses actually existed).However, the most important method used in attempting to verify the letterswas analyzing them to gauge Lincoln's personality. The title of the bookreflects the editor's bent: looking to the detective's vocation infashioning an approach to historical evidence gathering and interpretation. In the last part of his book, however, Winks exposes the differencebetween detectives and historians. Robin W. New York: Harper & Row, 1968.-----------------------[i]Robin Collingwood, "Who Killed John Doe? For instance, RobinCollingwood looks at the reliability of "testimony," as that term might beapplied to historical evidence. Winks, 39- 6 (New York: Harper & Row, 1968).[ii]Winks, "Tracer of Missing Persons: Biographer and Autobiographer," in Historian as Detective, 61-64.[iii]Winks, The Secret of the Ebony Cabinet: A Search for 'Lost' Manuscripts," in Historian as Detective, 89-1 3.[iv]Winks, 1 4-1 8.[v]Richard D. Theautobiographer typically does not go through the same critical analysis ofevidence that the biographer does. Altick, "The Mystery of Marie Roget, and Other Diversions: Another Search of Lost Manuscripts," in Winks, Historian as Detective, 1 8-26.[vi]Altick, 1 8-26.[vii]Paul M. Thus, whole groupsof historians will emphasize certain aspects of life when writing duringone period of time, while other historians will emphasize other aspectswhen writing at another time. This, in turn, wouldgive some idea as to the reasons why certain events occurred. Moreover, Winks sides with mosthistorians in believing that one who just "reports the facts" is not reallya historian but an antiquarian. Some value judgments are made whendeciding how to report the facts. "The Case of the cheating Documents: False Authority and the Problem of Surmise." In The Historian as Detective: Essays in Evidence, ed. Beaglehole notes that Cook was killed soon after he landedat Kealakekua Bay. Robin W. Thomas Spencer Jerome, an attorney by trade no less, used thismethod to evaluate the usefulness of eyewitness evidence. If the papersare those of a religious figure, should the historian lead the caretakersto believe that he or she is of a like mind in religious matters? Instead, they examined all of the items exhaustively,presenting possible alternative causes of action and emphasizing one causeof action more than the others. But the whole point of this book isthat historians are performing the same sort of work. At first thought, there would seem to be no problem inthis area, since historians are not usually thought of as doing the samekind of work as private detectives. "Tracer of Missing Persons: Biographer and Autobiographer." In The Historian as Detective: Essays in Evidence, ed. New York: Harper & Row, 1968.-----. Some of the authorsdeal with gathering these pieces, looking for hidden objects. This mental and physical fatigue took theedge off of his normally fine judgment and resulted in the mistakes whichdirectly led to his death.[xii] The other essays in the fourth part of Winks' book further illustratehow a historian can effectively interpret evidence to find underlyingcauses of events. However, this time he was struggling against theft by thenatives and eventually lost his cutter to native thieves. The authors of these essaysdeal with the problems of historical research and constructing a puzzlefrom a pool of tiny pieces, which are not all present. In that example, areverend's daughter claims that she killed the victim. New York: Harper & Row, 1968.Angle, Paul M. The detective must find the singletruth in order to solve a crime, or a problem. Heasserts that there are no ready-made statements in history. The literary scholar spends much of his time hunting formanuscripts which have remained unpublished for many years and whichpromise to shed new light on the published works of the authors and on theauthors themselves. The Problem of Testimony." In The Historian as Detective: Essays in Evidence, ed. Robin W. Winks, 1 8-26. The first three parts of the book which illustrate this point well.In these parts, Winks includes essays which deal with the gathering ofevidence and the reliability of that evidence. Again, Winks notes that many view this phase as the excitingpart of the detective work, looking for the piece that will make the wholepuzzle fit together. Robin W. Consequently, the historian must look tosources from different eras in order to get a full picture of life duringthe era in question[x]. Beaglehole, "The Case of the Needless Death: Reconstructing the Scene," in The Historian as Detective, 28 -3 2.[xiii]Robin Collingwood, "The Pleasures of Doubt: Reenacting the Crime," in Historian as Detective, 513-22. New York: Harper & Row, 1968.Winks, Robin. As Winks points out, the criticaldifference between the two forms of history is the authorship. Robin W. And this skepticism must extend toreading that written by others.

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