Factual philology

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The term subject philology describes a research method in philology which, in contrast to word philology , seeks to gain knowledge not only through the analysis of the texts ( grammar , style , text criticism ), but with the help of other disciplines. This method is particularly important in philologies of extinct languages, as in classical philology , for example, the findings of archeology , numismatics , epigraphy , and papyrology provide useful clues.

In the 19th century, in the wake of the beginning reflection on methods in the humanities, a dispute arose between Gottfried Hermann and August Böckh , the editor of the Corpus Inscriptionum Graecarum . Böckh's strong involvement in other ancient studies , especially epigraphy, received sharp reviews from Hermann . Hermann himself took the view that excessive reliance on the knowledge of other disciplines would cloud the true knowledge of philology. This dispute over methods continued in Germany into the 20th century. However, there was no definite formation of two camps, and hostilities between the main representatives of one method and those of the other rarely occurred.

Today, subject philology, which sees philology as one way alongside many to gain knowledge, is preferred to mere word philology in most questions.

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