Analysis of Primary Source

Analysis of Primary Source

Analysis of Primary Sources
Primary sources, in writing texts about history, are utilized to support the authority or authenticity of thoughts or ideas. Primary sources constitute first-hand information and unswerving and genuine evidence to prove the factuality of situations or events that took place in the past.[1] The content of primary sources that will be used in written texts is critical to producing valid outputs as it will determine how accurate and valid written works will be. With this in mind, writers or authors of historical texts should acquire knowledge and skills in analyzing primary sources in order to determine which sources to use and which sources to discard by evaluating the authenticity, objectivity, and context of particular sources. To excavate the concepts of primary source analysis, two sources about the period of Enlightenment will be discussed in the remainder of this text.
The first article was written by Immanuel Kant. Kant displayed his agreement with the concepts of Enlightenment as a means to liberate man as a thinking or rational human being, “free from outside direction” and impositions of external elements that swerve his judgment into crookedness and partiality.[2] The message of Kant is intended for all men, as the purpose of Enlightenment is open the minds and hearts of man to a liberal state of mind. This however, presents the biased side of Kant’s message as he is trying to influence man into following a concept born from his ideas and way of thinking. This thought becomes a point of inquiry or argument in terms of considering his work as a valid primary source. However, this is justified by the period in time from which it was written, where people were oppressed by authority figures that imposed their ideals and preponderance to the people.[3] I believe that the philosophical views of Kant deserves an appraisal, although it is quite subjective to his views, but justified by his experiences that support the constancy...

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