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 later British  philosopher whose intellectual development
and to avoid pertinacity or emphasis on his own. Like the
coincided with the rise in Europe of totalitarian ideologies such as
economic precept laissez faire ... it has been an important, if
National Socialism and Marxist-Leninism. Largely in opposition
not a final step in the making of method. ... [An] historian is
to these tendencies, he became one of the most formidable philos-
seen at his best when he does not appear. Better for us is the
ophers of classical liberalism that the twentieth century has pro-
example of the Bishop of Oxford, who never lets us know
duced. In contrast with the  certainty which the totalitarians
what he thinks of anything but the matter before him; and of
used as a justification for their suppression of those who disagreed
his illustrious French rival, Fustel de Coulanges, who said to
with them, Popper demonstrated that in intellectual fields such as
an excited audience:  Do not imagine you are listening to
science, philosophy and history, just as in economic activity,  cer-
me; it is history itself that speaks. ... For our purpose, the
tainty , in the sense of complete and unquestioned knowledge
main thing to learn is not the art of accumulating material,
about any subject, is a philosophical impossibility, because we
but the sublimer art of investigating it, of discerning truth
cannot possibly accumulate sufficient evidence to warrant such a
from falsehood and certainty from doubt. It is by solidity of
claim. In all knowledge, Popper argued, we are concerned merely
criticism more than by the plenitude of erudition, that the
with greater or lesser degrees of uncertainty. According to Pop-
study of history strengthens, and straightens, and extends the
per, a process of conjecture and refutation is the means by which
mind. And the accession of the critic in the place of the inde-
knowledge is advanced, not towards  certainty , nor even towards
fatigable compiler, of the artist in coloured narrative, the
 probability , but, by testing each hypothesis against the body of
skilled limner of character, the persuasive advocate of good,
existing knowledge, towards the progressive elimination of errors
or other, causes, amounts to a transfer of government, to a
and towards a less and less inaccurate interpretation of reality.
change of dynasty, in the historic realm. For the critic is one
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Any such conjecture must necessarily be  falsifiable , that is to our past, and we hope to illuminate the present by its reflec-
say that we could conceive of decisive refutations of it, before it tion.62
can be accepted as valid. In short, one must attempt to falsify a
Popper argues, in short, that the historian will always be  subjec-
hypothesis rather than to reinforce it. If a belief or dogma of any
tive in regard to such historical interpretation. Historical inter-
kind is given special politically-protected status in the law, so that
pretations must be tested against known facts and deductions
legal penalties are imposed on any person who expresses an opi-
which follow logically from those facts. If the interpretation is
nion which contradicts it, then the process of acquiring greater
sufficiently strong to withstand this testing process, then historians
knowledge is halted, because no belief or dogma can possibly be
will modify their representation of the past in accordance with it.
so  certain as to be beyond the process of conjecture and refuta-
New evidence, or the re-interpretation of existing evidence, may
tion. Mankind s continued survival and growth, which depends
also lead to such a modification. If for instance a key piece of
on this process of acquisition, is therefore to that extent impaired.
evidence is demonstrated to be a fake, then a significant modifica-
The classic example in the field of science is that of Galileo, who
tion may be necessary. The free market in ideas is the only way
was repeatedly prosecuted and forced to recant his discovery that
in which this process can be carried out.
the earth is not the centre of the solar system, because of its con-
flict with Church dogma. A more recent example is that of the HISTORICAL FAKES AND FORGERIES
notorious fraud Trofim Lysenko, whose Lamarckian ideas about
In 1990 the British Museum held a most interesting exhibition
agricultural  germination were considered by Stalin to be authen-
entitled  Fake? The Art of Deception , which I visited. The pur-
tically Marxist-Leninist, and were therefore elevated to the status
pose of the exhibition was to discuss what is meant by the con-
of an unquestioned dogma in the Soviet Union, resulting in the
cepts of  falsehood and  authenticity in such fields as art,
ruination of its agriculture and the murder or imprisonment of
science, literature and history. Some of the exhibits are objects
those scientists who disagreed with them.
and documents which were once accepted as genuine but are now
It is worth quoting Popper s argument in this respect at some believed to be fakes, others are objects which were once believed [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]