"The ability to decipher the written and material sources of the past,
and to bring those findings to bear on one’s own questions, is an
essential prerequisite for all historically informed disciplines – not
just for the discipline of History itself, but for related subjects,
from Philosophy to Modern Languages, Theology, History of Art and Legal
History. The ability to reach independent conclusions, and to make
scholarly evaluations of original source material (source criticism)
marks the essential difference between an interest in history and
scholarly research. [...]"
http://www.hsozkult.de/debate/id/diskussionen-2878
