HISTORICAL FACT

A. Basic trust history
The term knowledge is sometimes limited only by what we learn from experience or reason, not of belief. Logical knowledge is included in the distance, which means all of the facts and the truth is restrained from the human mind, not convoluted - convolution of the source obtained. The knowledge which we call as historical documents or historical knowledge, almost entirely disarkan on trust, which might be an affirmation, a mental assent to a truth or a fact on the word or other experts. There are 2 parts preformance in the process. A person (witness, informant) convey knowledge and someone (who believe) accept it. Actual communication of knowledge or testimony may indicate the contents of the delivery of knowledge.
The incident happened as history in an objective sense is no longer possible or experienced repeated again, but the marks as a memory can be disclosed or actualized. Disclosure form again is a statement (statement) about the incident. Thus, it is clear that the facts have been the product of mental processes (historian) or memorisasi. Therefore, essentially the fact also is subjective, includes elements of the subject.
There are a few things to note before we trust the testimony of the witness:
• Before accepting the testimony of witnesses, we must have some way of confirming what he really - really or can be as alleged to have knowledge of the testimony which he gave.
• A witness must be good faith, must have a purpose and a desire to tell the truth and report the facts as known. Honesty is the most basic of all requirements for qualification of a witness.
• Communication actual knowledge to others. People with knowledge of the best and probably intends to prove his possessions are not satisfying the deadline for testimony. Got a memory shortage, the power statement is incomplete and behaviors that are not aware that tall - exaggerated. This can lead to the testimony of one's hard to believe.
Trust is an absolute condition of social life every day. Greatest proportion of each person gained knowledge not from experience or personal reasons remain with the trust given by others. Together with the confidence of witnesses, only the facts that determine his testimony.
The motive of a trust is the main idea contained in the trust to accept because something is true, the world or other. On the other hand the trust not only directly sourced to the witness but also evidence - evidence that can be produced for the honesty or the truth of what he said. The possibility is often the case, with the help of a reference writer, which is given in a footnote to return to the main source of his statement, which often needs to be done in small problems or doubts.
B. Basic - Basic certainty history
The main function of the methodology is to identify ways and means of delivery history, which can be found or be interpreted as a firm approval from the mind to the historical data without fear because of the wrong reasons.
Based on the natural motives which are unfounded, certainty may be moral, physical and meta physical.
a. Motif work or justify
Moral certainty is known as the uniform or announce some of the moral law. History is largely a problem of confidence in the other testimony, and as testimony is an issue that is conditioned by its very basic moral laws, for most of the certainty of history is the history that exists. Certainty can be achieved in the history of frequent outcome of a series of possibilities that centralized, that gives the highest possibility that rare indistinguishable from certainty, and so the logicians often call it "moral certainty". Moral certainty as it applies in history, perhaps best defined as "an assurance that exclude all reasonable doubt,"
b. Certainty is the command history when the basic physical or motif is a uniform operation of known physical laws. Physical laws and conditions of the game which is an important part in the assessment of critical evidence. For example, we know that the time spent in one trip should be conditioned by the distance to be covered and transportation equipment are available.
c. Metaphysical certainty discover the basics of an absolute principle in its applications, do not admit exceptions. That sort of thing is the principle of contradiction / opposition ("the one thing that can not exist and no at the same time") and sufficient reason ("no one is without a sufficient reason," a principle of different causes). The possibility of metaphysical certainty in history it is reductive in character, for instance: "A historical facts which are stated without evidence reported by several independent witnesses. But their consent may not be explained except by the objective truth of the facts that are reported (the principle of sufficient reason). Consequently the fact A is said it must be metaphysical. ".
The facts are impossible to build (in history) is especially cover a wide space or time (sometimes referred to as general facts), customs, doctrine, istitusi, big event, the fact it is easier to observe than others and is now much easier to prove. In the case of ancient and medieval times, pemgetahuan history is limited to the facts common to the scarcity of documents. Basics of certainty is the experience of one's personal history, or the testimony of another person. Private practice, where experience exists, can be hung as a source of specific knowledge.

Sumber :
Garaghan, Gilbert. 1957. A Guide to Historical Method. New York: Fordham U.P.
Kartodirdjo, Sartono. 1992. Pendekatan Ilmu Sosial Dalam Metodologi Sejarah. Jakarta : Gramedia Pustaka Utama
U.P.Hugiono. 1992. Pengantar Ilmu Sejarah. Jakarta : Rineka Cipta