History as Complete Event, Story, Science and Art
1. History as events
Events that have occurred in the past are very important in the discussion of historical science. Through events, historical science gets an overview of human life in the past.
History as events that have occurred in the past has made it impossible for us to observe these events anymore. What we can observe is history as a story, namely the study of history as the story of an event. History as an event, meaning that historical events are placed as facts, events, and realities that really happened in the past.
These past events can be used as a basis for knowing and reconstructing life at that time. From these events, it can be known the cause and effect of an event. Regardless of the size of an event or events within the scope of human life, the science of history tries to compile a series of events that have occurred within the scope of human life from the past to the present, even predictions of future events.
2. History as story
All human creations are evidence of a living and dynamic human story. Talking about history as a story cannot be separated from historical events that occurred in the past. History as a story is the result of works, inventions, and research by various experts who later wrote it.
Accountable writing must go through an interpretation that is close to the truth of the events that occurred. Meanwhile, to reconstruct historical stories, certain analytical methods and approaches must be followed.
In other words, history as a story is past events which are retold based on interpretations and interpretations that can be accounted for. Composing a historical story from a society, nation, and state is not easy because the historical traces that have been left behind are not small.
Therefore, in its preparation it requires a very observant and wise and verifiable study so that it can be accounted for. In compiling history as a story, historians use the basis of the traces left by history as events. Traces of history that contain the life of a series of events or incidents within the scope of human life are important sources in writing historical stories.
3. History as a science
History is said to be a science because it is knowledge of the past that has been systematically compiled using scientific study methods to obtain the truth about past events. According to CE Berry, history is a science, nothing less and nothing less
more. Meanwhile, according to York Powell, history is not just a beautiful, instructive, and exciting story, but is a branch of science.
Therefore, as a branch of science, it must be proven scientifically using methods and various scientific standards that can be accounted for. The truth can be proven from documents that have been tested so that it can be trusted as a historical fact. History is considered a science because history has the requirements of science, among others, there are problems that become objects, there are methods, are systematically arranged, use rational thinking, and truth is objective.
If you look at this, history as a science can fulfill it, because:
a. the object of historical study is past events which are cause and effect;
b. the existence of a historical method that connects historical evidence;
c. historical stories arranged systematically and chronologically;
d. the truth of the facts is obtained from rational research on sources and systematic criticism (assessment);
e. Facts are subjective because everyone sees the past in a different way. Truth only "belongs" to this event itself. But the truth of fauna is also objective, meaning that truth must be recognized by intersubjectivity or acknowledged by many historians and the wider community.
4. History as art
An advocate of history as art is George Macauly Travelyan. He stated that writing a story of historical events is not easy, because it requires imagination and art. Writing history is an art, philosophy, polemic, and can be used as propaganda. 19th century historians named Comte, Spencer, and Mill stated that the scientific methods and attitudes of natural science can be used to study history, without requiring further modifications. However, according to Dithley, a modern philosopher, this is not true, because the nature of natural knowledge is something that is always real and visible, so abstract history is not easy to analyze.
Therefore, history is knowledge of taste. Dithley added that understanding in an imaginative way can make historical facts livelier and more meaningful. That is why, according to George Macauly Travelyan, in writing historical stories one must use beautiful, communicative, interesting language, and the content is easy to understand. Thus, art is needed in writing history so as to create a historical event that can be studied sequentially, complete, interesting and not boring.
Therefore, a historian must be willing to become a connoisseur of art to relive the story of life in the past, present and future. Thus, in addition to scientific elements, history also contains elements of art.