Ibn Khaldun's Criterion for Accepting Second-Hand Information - Assignment Example

History Ibn Khalduns criterion for accepting second-hand information Ibn identifies conformity or lack of it in order of the reported information to establish the truth and soundness of the data about factual occurrences. Before accepting any second-hand information, it is primary that a historian ascertains that possibility of occurrence of reported facts. Such steps are necessary and must be prioritized over the personality criticism. The correct impression of a phenomenon that was a cab be drawn from the personality criticism as well as evidence (external) through determining the conformity of the historical report based on a general phenomenon. Ibn spearheaded the subjection of historical reports (second-hand information) to the two fundamental criteria for a reason and social, physical laws. Before giving a nod to a particular information, the author recognized the four main pillars as (1)linking events to each other via cause and effect (2) drawing analogy between past and present (3) taking into consideration the impact of the environment and (4) considering the impact of inherited and economic conditions. The author attributes true progress and development to correct understanding of history, but the correct fathoming of history is only achievable through observing the following three pillars: (1) a historian must never be prejudiced for or against any particular idea (2) One must conform and scrutinize the reported information through studying all he can about the historians whose reports he reads or hears besides persistent moral and trustworthy checks of the authors reports before welcoming such second hand information and (3) An individual using second hand information must never restrict history to the study of military and political news with respect to rulers and states but rather, there is a need for inclusion of all religious, economic and social phenomena. The author stressed the significance of subjecting both social and historical conditions to scientific and objective analysis. He pointed out that those conditions were never the aftermaths of the chance but were guided by individual laws that were mandatorily being discovered and employed in the history, civilization as well as societal study. In addition, Ibn noted that historians have committed a range of errors as they study historical events based on the following factors; (1) Historians ignorance of the nature of civilization and people (2) historians prejudice and bias as well as (3) the blind acceptance of second hand information from various authors. What is his argument? The author argues that history is subject to universal laws by stating the criterion for historical truth. “The rule for distinguishing what is true from what is false in history is based on its possibility or impossibility." By stating this, Ibn implied that it is mandatory prerequisite for historians to examine the human society and segregate between the features that are fundamental and inherent in its nature as well as those that are accidental and require no accountability, and further advance to recognize the characteristics that are excludable in history. In doing so, Ibn sets a benchmark for sieving truth from error through a demonstrative approach that is undoubted. Therefore, such an argument presents an unpretentious criterion through that students of history may authenticate whatsoever they relate. In addition, it is a baseless allusion that Ibn’s emphasis on reason as well as its role in judging history and social events implies his refusal to conventional religious knowledge and substitute for it reason and rational philosophy. Ibn further takes a firm position that historians should apply the knowledge of the civilization as this culminates in the possibility of critical investigation. Historical information should thus be probed based on the knowledge of civilization that offers satisfactory critical investigation thus establishing a distinction between truth and false. Ibn rejects the dependency on the criticism investigation of history based on the available second-hand information through criticizing the personalities of transmitters. However, a personality transmitter is only resorted to once it the possibility of a piece of information is affirmed, and its absurdity validated and thus saves time for engagement in the personality criticism. Why is this important to understand the history? Ibn criterion and argument are key to helping the historians to determine the validity and the reliability of the reported information. Ibn thus gives the historians the correct position to understand the history. The conformity argument is fundamental in the investigating the second-hand information by other authors. In addition, the author broadens the scope of understanding history without limiting the study to politics and military based on states and people. The study of history should, therefore, incorporate all social, economic and religious conditions. The application of the knowledge of civilization in investigating the history as opposed to the usual criticism of personalities presents an effective opportunity to affirm the truth or false based on conformity with the history. Moreover, the justification for possibility or impossibility help identify the absurdity that further saves time of investigation information that cannot help. The critical investigation of history is also key in determining whether the particular piece of reported information can stand the test of reliability and validity of the information. In addition, understanding that was is best served through blending personality criticism and external (evidence) than it would be when only criticism investigation was to take a course. Ibn’s argument is also the principle in the sense that historians exposed to satisfactory criterion that help settle on a particular piece of reported information. Historians thus do waste time in criticizing absurd words but rather indulge only on that information that conform. The author points out the reasons for ineffective data collection by historians based on the historians’ ignorance of the nature of civilization and people, their prejudice and bias as well as the blind acceptance of second hand information from various authors. With this in mind, the historians can therefore proactively eliminate such errors by being keen to observe the identified mistakes and thus only accept the second-hand information after a thorough scrutiny and validation of the conformity of the information availed. In addition, the author’s arguments that historians need first to check the trustworthy of the other authors information before welcoming them into their studies is a fundamental observation. The factual about history is only possible based on the valid or testable; therefore, the reported information are first scrutinized for their real occurrence even before historians can start their investigation. In this case, Ibn thus presents historians information to be strictly truthful thus ensuring the reliability and the validity of the information under scrutiny. The author’s emphasis on the necessity of subjecting both social and historical phenomena to scientific and objective analysis is also a fundamental step in determine the need to accept a particular reported information. He made it clear that such phenomenon do not happen by changes but rather constrained by norms of their own. Such norms laws were discovered and applied in the learning of civilization, history, and society. His view helps other historians to attack and correct the unhealthy practices that established stagnation and stifling of creativity by the Muslim authors. Ibn argument about the normative approach of distinguishing right from wrong in reported information based on the possibility or absurdity help historians investigate human social organization, which is identical with civilization. The author’s assertion and point of view thus allows distinguish the conditions that attribute themselves to the essence of civilization as dictated by its very nature based on the accidental things and need not to account for as well those items that possibly attach themselves to civilization. Finally, whenever historians get a grasp of certain conditions happening in civilization, we get to know what to consent to and those to pronounce spurious. In so doing, historians possess a yardstick based on particular historians that portray truthfulness and correctness in their respective reported information. What is the standard he uses to evaluate historical information? The author evaluates the historical information on the basis of conformity. Ibn argues that historians must be able to ascertain the conformity of the reported information in order to determine the falsehood or truth of a particular information. In addition, the author uses the critical civilization to investigate the reported information based on the critical investigation to determine the possibility and the absurdity of the reported information. Also, the author persistently checks for the trustworthiness of the other authors works and rejects blind acceptance of the reported information to ensure that only factual information that are supported by real happenings are included in the accepted information. His evaluation is further pegged at considering the effect of inherited and economic conditions, considering the effect of the environment, drawing analogy between past and present as well as relating the events top each other via cause and effect criterion. Thus, only those information that can be justified to have happened should form part of the reported information historians accept and only once their possibility of information is affirmed, and its absurdity validated. Therefore, Ibn criterion becomes key in the study of history and historians will be certain of the information gathered and probed to communicate to the stakeholders. Reference The abridged and edited version of The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History, published by the Princeton University Press, Bollingen Series, Fifth Printing, 1981. http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ik/Muqaddimah/PreliminaryRemarks.htm http://sunnahonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=371:ibn-khaldun&catid=45:biographies&Itemid=60 Read More