However as we discussed in “Problems of knowledge” a while ago, we concluded that knowledge itself is not very worth trusting. There are great limitations and errors within knowledge itself. This limitation often give rise to great uncertainties, even in events we always think is true. Take the atomic bomb dropped in Hiroshima in August 1945 as an example. Most people, including many historians, think that it has happened. However, they believed because this version of history in 1945 is based on pictures, videos, and interviews from survivers at that time. They assume these evidences are true and reliable. What if all these evidences are not true? What if the Americans and Japaneses are lying? This is not something that is impossible, because there are more and more scientists nowadays who are starting to challenge the reailty of the event.
The pictures, as they suggested, are fake. All pictures which claimed to be the bomb dropped in Hiroshima has already been proven to be photos of an experimental bomb. Also, by scientific knowledge, a place which as been bombed will be highly radioactive. This means no one will be able to live on that piece of land for some 30 years. All these new evidence (or we so-called knowledge in terms of science) are starting to prove that there was no atomic explosion in Hiroshima.
What will this imply? If what we believed is no longer true, all the following events will no longer be true. But why do historians still believe that there were atomic explosions in Japan? It is because of a consensus reached. The Japanese government, the US government and historians throughout the world have believed and still believe in this. So no matter how solid these evidences are it will not be convincing because not many people believed in this. Until a new consensus is reached it will not be history, but rather a rumour.
The five ways of knowledge will also create chaos in history, which prohibits the agreement of a consensus. Take the current history textbook released in Japan as an example. The Japanese government allowed the publishers to use the phrase “Japanese soldiers entered China in 1945 and many Chinese died.” However Chinese governments insists that it should be “Japanese soldiers invaded China in 1945 and killed many innocent Chinese.” This is due to problems in ways of knowledge (perception). The main problem of perception is how check which of our perceptions are true. This problem arises because, to us, only what is experienced is real. Therefore, our knowledge of objects comes not from mathematical or logical principles but from direct experience. In this case, the Chinese residents and Japanese soldiers had two totally different experiences. Does that imply that any one of the perceptions is wrong? We come up with one version of history because many other countries had the same perception as China and so the Japanese perception is rejected. This is why a consensus is necessary for history to exist.
We live on a planet in which we have to share with 600 million (increasing every second) people. In order to have something convincing, we have to first reach a consensus. After this, it will be easier to let others believe, which thus leads to more believers, finally forms “History”.
