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Internal vs External Criticism Explained

External criticism examines documents to determine their authenticity by analyzing factors like authorship, date, textual accuracy, and terms used. This helps establish if a document is genuine. Internal criticism analyzes a document's content to understand the author's intended meaning and assess the credibility and reliability of their statements. It involves determining if an author had firsthand knowledge of events and corroborating facts with other sources, as some authors may not tell the truth or have inaccurate information. Together, external and internal criticism are used in historical analysis to validate sources and interpret their significance and meaning.

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2K views4 pages

Internal vs External Criticism Explained

External criticism examines documents to determine their authenticity by analyzing factors like authorship, date, textual accuracy, and terms used. This helps establish if a document is genuine. Internal criticism analyzes a document's content to understand the author's intended meaning and assess the credibility and reliability of their statements. It involves determining if an author had firsthand knowledge of events and corroborating facts with other sources, as some authors may not tell the truth or have inaccurate information. Together, external and internal criticism are used in historical analysis to validate sources and interpret their significance and meaning.

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john marlo andrade
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  • External Criticism
  • Internal Criticism

External and Internal Criticism

Historical criticism, also known as the historical-critical method or higher criticism, is a branch
of criticism that investigates the origins of ancient texts in order to understand "the world behind
the text".

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External Criticism:
The ‘External Criticism’ is of a less intellectual type of criticism of the documents. It includes
examinations of documents like manuscripts, books, pamphlets, maps, inscriptions, and
monuments. The problem of authenticity of document arises more in the case of manuscripts
than the printed documents because the printed document has already been authenticated by
the editor.
Historian has to resort to a number of tests to determine the authenticity of a particular
document in his proposed area of research such as— ‘Authorship’ the first question while
examining the authenticity of a document is its author. Even the anonymous writings can
provide us useful and important knowledge. But the discovery of an author’s or writer’s name
adds the authenticity of the information because of the character, connections and
trustworthiness of the author determine the authenticity.
Secondly, “Date of Document”, i.e. the time, place of publication of the document must be
inquired to determine the authenticity of the document. In the modern publications year and
place of publication is indicated on the book or document on the title page or backside
(overleaf). However, in the old manuscript where the data and place are absent, it can be found
out from the language or from the date of birth and death of the author.
Thirdly, Textual Analysis-the historian confronts the textual errors which may be either
unintentional or deliberately committed. Unintentional error can take place in the copies of the
documents (originals are not available). These mistakes may be caused by the scribe, typist or
printer.
An intention error may creep in when the effort is made to modify, supplement or continue the
original. This problem can be overcome through textual criticism. Under this technique, the effort
is made to collect as many copies of dubious text as possible and they are compared.
If the ideas and style do not match or resemble the idea and style of the author it can be safely
assumed that they were not parts of the original manuscript and were forged by the later ones.
Further’ more, the textual accuracy can be solved with the help of “sciences auxiliary” to history
such as “Paleographists” have authenticated numerous documents of the medieval period by
their handwriting and have published easily legible printed versions.
The “archaeologists” provides rich information to the historians, the “numismatists” by dating the
coins, medals and deciphering their inscriptions render valuable assistance. Fourthly, after the
confirmation of the authenticity of the sources historians confronted with the different terms used
in the document.
The meaning of words often changes from generation to generation. Therefore historians must
find out the meaning and sense in which it has been used in the document. The
misinterpretation of terms may lead to a misunderstanding of historical development.
In this way, even after the historian established the authenticity of the documents and
discovered the meaning of the text his duty is not over. He is confronted with another important
problem with the credibility of the document.
Internal Criticism:
While collecting the material, it must be remembered that a document contains the idea of the
man who wrote. A historian must analyze the contents of the documents with a view to
determining the real meaning. He must try to avoid the laps such as avoid the reading into
meaning which author did not mean to convey, etc., and make a sincere effort to find out the
facts even if they are contrary to his set notions and theories.
He must be able to understand the literal and real meaning of the document which is termed as
‘Positive Criticism’. It reveals us with the author’s conceptions and general notion which he
represents. On another hand, historian sometimes comes across documents which contradict
each other. Hence the need for eliminating statements and facts which are obviously wrong and
false arises.
Therefore, historians have come to hold the view that all that cannot be proved must be
temporarily regarded as doubtful because of the incompetence and unreliability of the author
which prevents him from telling the truth even when he knows. To assess the correctness of the
fact, the historian must ascertain whether the author had the opportunity to know the facts as an
eyewitness or not.
What was his source of information and how much time elapsed between the event and the
record? But the dependable testimony depends on a number of factors such as ability and
willingness to tell the truth, the accuracy of the report and independent corroboration. However,
it may be noted that there is a possibility that a skillful liar may deliberately create the condition,
i.e. ability and willingness to tell the truth with accuracy to establish the credibility of his
statements.
Therefore, in those cases, the credibility must not be accepted without proper investigation.
Moreover, if there is an agreement between documents, we cannot draw the conclusion that the
facts are definitive but we must ensure that the facts are harmonious and prove each other are
interconnected.

Common questions

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Internal criticism involves examining the document’s content to understand the author's intent and the factual accuracy. Historians assess whether the document reflects the author's actual beliefs and whether statements can be corroborated with independent sources. The analysis includes verifying the author's opportunity and reliability in recounting events, ensuring facts are not based on misconstructions. This method identifies bias or deliberate deception that might affect credibility .

Historians manage conflicting documents by cross-referencing with additional sources and analyzing the authors' credibility, intent, and the context in which they wrote. They eliminate statements that are clearly false and weigh plausible accounts against broader historical evidence. This process involves assessing the consistency of facts across reliable records .

Relying solely on physical aspects such as authorship, date, and textual appearance ignores the document's internal credibility and contextual consistency. While these aspects help identify forgery, without internal analysis, the document’s factual accuracy and the author’s intent remain uncertain. Physically authentic documents may still contain fabricated or biased content .

Skillful liars may create plausible yet false testimonies by fabricating circumstances that suggest authenticity. Historians must conduct comprehensive investigation, scrutinizing the context, content consistency, and cross-verifying with independent and unbiased sources to ensure truthfulness. Without such precautions, false narratives could mislead historical interpretation .

Changes in word meanings can lead to misinterpretations of historical texts. Historians must determine the original context and usage to accurately interpret documents. Failure to do so might result in misunderstandings of the historical context and the author's intentions .

Historians must be cautious because agreement between documents does not automatically confirm accuracy. The documents could independently propagate a falsehood, or one could be a source for another. Thus, historians need to ensure that the facts are corroborated through independent sources and are part of an interconnected body of evidence .

Textual criticism resolves authenticity issues by comparing multiple copies of a document to detect errors, omissions, or alterations. It distinguishes between unintentional errors made during transcription and deliberate changes. Textual analysis helps discard content inconsistent with the author's known style, thus verifying which parts of a text are authentic and which might be falsified .

Authenticity of authorship is determined by examining handwriting for consistency with known samples, verifying author biographies for possible authorship circumstances, and cross-referencing stylistic elements with previously verified works. Historical methods may also involve collaboration with paleographers and other experts to ensure accurate authorship identification .

External criticism involves analyzing physical aspects of a document such as the authorship, date, and textual integrity to authenticate it. By identifying the author, historians can assess the integrity of the document’s content based on the author's character and trustworthiness. The publication date and place help verify whether the document could realistically have been created at that time. Textual analysis aids in identifying errors or modifications that may compromise the document's authenticity .

A historian verifies an author’s opportunity by examining historical records to ensure that the author was present at the events described, had access to reliable sources, and recorded events soon after they occurred to minimize memory distortion. They must also assess whether the author had sufficient knowledge and competence to accurately report the events .

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