20th November 2008, 3:55 PM
Quote:A text file can never prove itself to be true. That's silly. "Beyond" is the ONLY acceptable evidence.
Well, I did also mention other corroborating facts, of course... so either you're ignoring that or you don't think that's enough, but you should at least address them.
But anyway, I don't agree with this at all, written evidence is the most important kind. Other things can support written evidence, but nothing else is as important, or as insightful...
Of course you cannot always trust that something is accurate, but when enough things suggest that it is for you to believe it, there's nothing wrong in doing so.
In the field of history, studying and analyzing written evidence is the core of what the study of history is about, not other kinds. History doesn't begin until things start getting written down...