Unwitting testimony

The phrase "unwitting testimony" was coined by the British historian Arthur Marwick of the Open University.{{cite book |first=Arthur |last=Marwick |author-link=Arthur Marwick |title=The New Nature of History: knowledge, evidence, language |publisher=Palgrave |location=Basingstoke |year=2001 |orig-year=1970 |isbn=0-333-96447-0 |pages=172–79 }} Marwick acknowledged, however, that he had adopted and developed the concept from some earlier remarks made by the American historian of science, Henry Guerlac.{{cite book |first=Henry |last=Guerlac |author-link=Henry Guerlac |chapter=Some historical assumptions of the history of science |editor-first=A. C. |editor-last=Crombie |editor-link=Alistair Cameron Crombie |title=Scientific change: historical studies in the intellectual, social and technical conditions for scientific discovery and technical invention, from antiquity to the present |location=New York |publisher=Basic Books |year=1963 |page=799 }}Marwick 2001, p. 172.{{Cite book|title=Philosophical Principles of the History and Systems of Psychology: Essential Distinctions|last=Scalambrino|first=Frank |year=2018 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-3-319-74732-3|location=Cham |pages=11}} Marwick defined it as a feature of historical evidence to be distinguished from "witting testimony", which is the message of the primary source consciously intended to be conveyed by the author.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i6h8DwAAQBAJ&q=unwitting+testimony+historical+sources&pg=PT63|title=The Routledge Dance Studies Reader |last1=Giersdorf |first1=Jens Richard|last2=Wong|first2=Yutian|date=2018|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781351613842|language=en}} Witting and unwitting testimonies can be applied both to the primary source itself or the historian who is constructing a secondary source.{{Cite book|last=Scalambrino|first=Frank|title=Philosophical Principles of the History and Systems of Psychology: Essential Distinctions|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2018|isbn=9783319747323|location=Cham, Switzerland|pages=11, 13}}

Unwitting testimony has been employed by historians to establish the beliefs and customs of past societies particularly in their interpretation of words and phrases, which tend to change meaning over time.{{Cite book|title=History Fundamentals 1 (Speedy Study Guides)|last=Publishing|first=Speedy|date=2015|publisher=Speedy Publishing LLC|isbn=9781681856742|pages=10}} It does not refer to the testimony itself but the intention of the writer, author or creator of the historical source.{{Cite book|last=Thompson|first=Willie|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gs0cBQAAQBAJ&q=%22unwitting+testimony%22+intention+writer&pg=PA38|title=Postmodernism and History|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2004|isbn=978-0-333-96339-5|location=New York|pages=38|language=en}} The unwitting nature of the testimony include culture-bound views of the observer on events, which some scholars say can lead to a failure in understanding historical texts if ignored.{{Cite book|last1=Adshead-Lansdale|first1=Janet|title=Dance History: An Introduction|last2=Layson|first2=June|publisher=Routledge|year=2006|isbn=978-1-134-87685-3|location=Oxon|language=en}} Aside from the author's intent, reader utility is also considered an important factor in unwitting testimony. The concept was also applied to film by Karsten Fledelius, referring to the incidental aspects of reality that slipped into the camera that were unwittingly recorded.{{Cite book|title=Film and History|last=Chapman|first=James|date=2013-10-30|publisher=Macmillan International Higher Education|isbn=9780230363861|location=New York|pages=77}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite web |first=Arthur |last= Marwick |author-link=Arthur Marwick |title=The Fundamentals of History |publisher=Institute of Historical Research |url=http://www.history.ac.uk/ihr/Focus/Whatishistory/marwick1.html }}

Category:Philosophy of history

{{Hist-stub}}