Objectivity in history has always been at the forefront of Historical Scholarship since the emergence of history as an academic discipline. Some scholars have traced the debate of objectivity to the 19th century, where there were arguments whether History could be objective or not.[1]
Firstly a work by Herodotus titled “Histories”, tackles the idea of objectivity by advising practitioners of history to record faithfully all existing accounts on any historical evidence.[2]
Also, to Von Ranke, objectivity is recounting the past as it really happened. This denotes that the historian should base his conclusions on his fact, no more, no less. His personal opinions would not count according to this definition.[3]
There is a definition of scientific objectivity, Objectivity can be defined as a body of knowledge in which there is a separation between the investigator and the object of investigation, thereby making it possible for all investigators of the same object to arrive at the same conclusion.[4] Concerning history, objectivity simply means the ability to separate oneself from your object of study, analyse and interpret, without allowing prejudice or personal bias to influence your writing.
A question that is frequently asked is how to determine if the historian is objective? The first step is that the historian should balance sources, the historian should be neutral, and he should make his point based on the different sources he has gotten. The historian should and would have corroborated his work with different sources. All these once added with the above panacea would lead to 50/50%, 70/30%, or 60/40% objectivity. It is important to note that there is no absolute objectivity and if a historian pursues absolute objectivity, he is only chasing a mirage. In other words, historians should strive to attain a certain amount of objectivity.
In conclusion, the term objectivity in relation to history simply means the ability to separate oneself from the object of study, to analyse, and interpret, without allowing prejudice or personal bias to influence your writing. Objectivity serves as a methodological tool to prevent historians from reflecting bias and prejudice in their accounts.[5]
[1]Alao A., 2006. Historians and the problem of objectivity in The Introduction to Philosophy of History. Alao A. (ed)Lagos, :Printechique. Chapter 7
[2] Alao A., 2006. Historians and the problem of objectivity …. Chapter 7
11 Ajetunmobi R.O 2004. Historiography and the nature of History p. 116.
[4] Olubomehin, O.O. 2001. The Issue of Objectivity in Issues in Historiography. … pp38-39
[5] Olubomehin, O.O. 2001. The Issue of Objectivity in Issues in Historiography…p 46
