Historical Knowledge: What is history and its role in society?

A paper I wrote about history, what it is and its purpose in society.

History invokes emotion, logic, ideals, perceptions, opinions, bias, and etc. History is a complex subject to talk about in addition to analyzing. History is not scientific. It encompasses a person moral ideals and beliefs. As I look throughout history I cannot ignore the impact that it has had on the development of the American society. The fact is that history evokes emotions inside different people. It is true that history is not scientific but moral. History allows us to utilize what has happened with what is happening now. History allows us to make corrections to the present by looking at past problems.

“It should lead us to acknowledge our profound and chastening frailty as human beings….. that the future outwits all our certainties and the possibilities of the future are more various than the human intellect is designed to conceive. ” This quote is simply stating that history provides a basic foundation as where to start our search for history and search for our future. It is true that this search will not be an easy find. As a society we now know how to learn from history and adapt its laws into our society. In oppose to hundreds of years ago when we had no idea what we were in for as a society.

History also lets us know how easily we are swayed as human beings. Throughout history citizens have been the primary audience of leaders. These leaders feed the citizens words that intoxicate them. These are the words that make the leader in command in the citizens powerless. I take evidence from Slobodan Milosevic who started a campaign for ethnic cleansing movement inside the country of Serbia. “Countries under foreign command quickly forget their history, their past, their tradition, their national symbols, their way of living, often their own literary language.” To some nationalist this movement was a great movement while to others it promoted mass genocide.

When I look at leaders such as this in history I cannot help but feel sad for the thousands of people who have lost their lives. History sparks emotions inside people that allow them to feel empathy for other people. This is the reason why it is classified its values as a moral concept. History makes a person or its reader dwell deeper into themselves and fact their moral self. This is the self that helps you to determine what is morally right. The knowledge issue that is developed with this claim is how can you truly judge a person and their action through your emotions?

In regards to the human aspect of history, it does a major part in helping people to realize that we are all humans. I take reference from The Search For Truths by Jacques Barzun where he states, “Above all, we should stop fighting over tentative notions we believe in.”[1] Societies have been fighting over what they believe to be truth for years. Many of their truths are based on their concept and interpretation of history. This has lead to many wars and many battles and lots of lives lost. The concept of history and its truths are subjected to change anytime.

This is what makes these truths tentative notions because they may be changed at anytime or new evidence can come to contradict these truths. These truths are subjected to constant historical interpretations or biased opinions. These things inadvertently create knowledge issues. What makes your historical interpretations better than anyone else? How is it that absolute truths are subjected to other people’s opinions? How is the right person to make such claims?

When we look at history we must not forget the concept of time. Time is defined as a non-spatial continuum in which events occur in apparently irreversible succession from the past through the present to the future.[2] There are two different types of times mechanical time and body time. Mechanical time is measured in seconds, minutes, hours, days, and years. In oppose to body time which is not measured and is based upon the individual. History and time are interrelated to each other, without one we would not have the other.[3] These two things come together and create an event. In fact, some would say that history is composed of events. I think this is partially true because we must ask ourselves the question of who is to determine this.

History is enabling us to be in control of our actions and our destiny. History is embedded in us from the moment that we are conceived. When I look at my actions that I have done to influence my own destiny I see the role of history. It is through history that I have control of myself. I am able to know my past actions and the consequences that came from them. It is also through history that we meet the future. History shows us what we have done as societies and what has to be done. In post-racial America some may say that we are past the concept of race while others say that we are not. I say that we still have work to be done before we can truly claim the title of being truly post racial. When we say this it would mean that we are past race and its questions but we have just touched this concept and have not explored it deeply enough.

As you think of history we must remember the fact that it is subjected to others opinions. “History is a doomed enterprise”[4]. History is constantly victim of people’s beliefs, truths, and bias. Every person has a different perception and different objective of history. This is how history is constantly changing because people are constantly changing what they perceive to be true. This is how some tentative truths become absolute truths and how some absolute truths become tentative truths. It is this movement of history that will forever have it changing or added onto with the emergence of new evidence.

History is the basis of society and civilizations. “History is the cure of omnipotence and omnipresence”. It is true that people tend to think of themselves are all knowing individuals. This is how absolute truths are developed. History cures this because it shows us that the power rests in the individual. The methods that a person used to achieve power can be copied by someone else. History also shows that citizens have rebelled against people who consider themselves all knowing or all powerful beings. This may interfere with beliefs which they feel is an absolute truth. This raise a knowledge issue of to what extent can you be guided by your emotions?

History encompasses a person moral ideals and beliefs. History also lets us know how easily we are swayed as human beings. History does a major part in helping people to realize that we are all humans. History is forever changing and is constantly subjected to other people’s opinions. History is enabling us to be in control of our actions and our destiny. History is very complex and as a society we are understanding history more and more and its complexities. It is through history that we would gain an idea of how to interact with individuals and societies.

Cortez A., U.S.

Questions for you:

1. What do you think is the purpose of history ?
2. What if we as humans did not have history?
3. How important is history to you?

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[1] The Search for Truth, Jacques Barzun

[2] http://www.thefreedictionary.com/time

[3] Einstein’s Dream- Alan Lightman

[4] Folly’s Antidote