[WikiEN-l] Primary sources

[Phil Boswell]

"Ilmari Karonen" <nospam at vyznev.net> wrote in 
message news:441B614A.7020406 at vyznev.net...
> Fastfission wrote:
[snippety-snip]
> I suspect you're wrong about this being universal.  It may well be true
> for history, but in mathematics, for example, citing primary sources is
> perfectly reasonable and even desirable.  The difference, of course, is
> that history, unlike mathematics, requires context and interpretation.

The difference is between recounting what someone actually said, for which 
you need primary sources, and deciding whether what they said was true, for 
which you almost always require the support of secondary sources.

Both have their place and function.

HTH HAND
-- 
Phil
[[en:User:Phil Boswell]]