Leopold von Ranke and the Search for Objectivity in Historical Writings: Between Theory, and Practice

Abstract

Leopold von Ranke was a leading German historian of the 19th century. His method and seminars had a great impact on world historiography. His main aim was to demonstrate that history, similar to any other branch of science, can, and should, achieve an objective knowledge about the past, free from subjectivity. To achieve this, historians must follow rigid empirical methods based on original sources, critically review that source, and subsequently provide an impartial representation of the whole. 

This article argues that objective knowledge of the past is unachievable. Historians are products of their socio-economic and political context that cannot be escaped from. In other words, historians, as human beings, have no standpoint from outside of their human situation to look at the historical events naturally. Historians cannot help being part of the society that they grow up in which always has an impact on their worldview. Thus, the best historian can achieve regarding impartiality is to be aware of their own biases instead of claiming objectivity.  This article shows that even Ranke, who attempted to employ a rigorous scientific method to produce an impartial view of past events, himself, could not achieve this aim.