ABSTRACT
One would expect that the concept of error figures large in the historiography of science. After all, history is studied because the past differed from the present. With respect to the history of science it is natural to suggest that such differences come about in differences between right and wrong. What else would be the incentive to change our theories about the world if these are never found to stand in need of correction? This insight is not new to historians but the strange thing is that it has not led to a satisfactory theory of error. As a matter of fact, talk of error in the traditional epistemic way has almost completely faded into the background in present-day historiography. This chapter aims to clarify this situation.
