Aims and Purpose of History

The aims and purpose of history can be evaluated through the study of historians and their audiences. The differing methods of collecting and using sources and evidence has caused countless debates between historians and other academics from Herodotus, the 'Father of History' to G.R Elton and his views on objective truth. Similarly Stuart Macintyre's "The Historian's Conscience" debates and discusses the issues surrounding evidence, time and motives of historians. The aim of history according …

…case of Herodotus and Thucydides their aim was to tell the objective truth, however their purposes for maintaining national legacy caused their history to become somewhat unreliable. Similarly with Bede and von Ranke their aim was to communicate "how essentially things happened" however their religious beliefs caused their history to also become unreliable. The Carr V Elton debate succinctly describes how bias and judgement can influence an historian's aim and purpose and therefore their history.