Anyone up for backing off Tom and Sally and discussing whether or not " . . . history can be objectively known . . . . " or whether or not there's " . . . certainty of knowledge . . . " in well-researched, well-written academic history? I, for one, side with those who agree with Ranke's ideals . . . but despair of attaining them. Try, for example, describing the first battle of Manassas . . . or even the capture of "Sherman's battery" on 21 July 1861 . . . on the basis of the best-available primary sources. We traffic. I believe, in more-or-less sophisticated pattern recognition, more-or-less language-limited articulation of those patterns, and, at best, more-or-less logically reliable and intellectually honest approximations of "historical truth." The trick lies in knowing how to make the distinctions. The tragedy lies never accumulating enough historical knowledge to even BEGIN to see patterns. No? Dan Morrow Middleburg On May 16, 2008, at 9:25 PM, [log in to unmask] wrote: > If you cannot admit that history can be objectively known, then you > cannot > believe that history bears any certainty of knowledge. ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html