Ibn Khaldun part 1: History and the problem of ‘fake news‘

This is the first of a four part series on Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406), the African Arab intellectual widely considered to be the founder of sociology and the philosophy of history. We will be reading from the introduction of his Muqaddimah ("Prolegomena"), and discussing his insights on historical methodology, some epistemological problems they raise, and their continued relevance in contemporary life.

In part one, we examine his discussion of the causes of inaccuracy and falsehood in historical accounts, including the partisanship of historians, uncritical reliance on transmitted reports, ignorance of the cultural and historical context in which reported events took place, and propaganda.