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importance of history to the society
importance of history to the society
importance of history to the society
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A historian is someone that studies a series of events in order to create a reconstruction of the past to be able to explain the present and speculate about the future. In contrast, a human scientist interprets said events which are associated with human beings. To approach the prescribed chosen essay title I will focus on, one main knowledge issue and others that will arise from it: To what extent is the purpose of historians or human scientists to have an impact on the way in which the community we live in behaves? While looking at history, psychology, reason, sense perception and emotion, we will see that history isn’t necessarily the study of the past and that human scientists are not necessarily looking to change the future.
In order to determine the purpose of human scientists, we should analyze whether the purpose of history is linked to the purpose of science or not. Despite the fact that both history and the human sciences use reason as a way of knowing, it is a common assumption that any type of science is a more reliable source. On the other hand, history is said to be less reliable as the memory is said to be fallible and evidence is ambiguous, and on many occasions it is said to rely on observation, which can be an error depending on different sense perceptions of the events witnessed. For example, let’s say we discover Stonehenge. From a distance of 5m you state that there is clear evidence that it had originally been transported by people to the place it now is because of the marks it has. However, my myopia tells me that there is no evidence, as I see everything blurred out. This example clearly shows why the human eye is not reliable, as myopia, for example, is common amongst society. On the other hand, human sci...
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...ural sciences advances in order to carry out investigations, as the materials and resources used may sometimes be the same for both. However, it can change our futures to some extent, as human scientists keep improving their theories and undertake experiments or studies to prove them.
In conclusion, whether we believe the statement “The historian’s task is to understand the past; the human scientist, by contrast, is looking to change the future.” is true or not depends on our sense perception and on how we interpret it. I personally think the statement is not true as, despite their methodologies, both historians and human scientists want to see society develop and evolve. History is needed to understand the past, explain the present and change the future, while human sciences have to explain the past in order to understand the present and then change the future.
I found it very intriguing that I read three different books discussing history and how it functions. All of the authors had a different view on the most important functions of history. The beginning of “A Pocket Guide to Writing in History” asks a great question. Why should we bother studying the past in an increasingly future-oriented society? A Pocket Guide to Writing in History used a more open view and did not focus on the statistics as much of the other two authors. A Pocket Guide to Writing in History discusses the importance of seeing our world through different eyes. How a historian should ask questions and use a variety of critical thinking skills to have s better understanding of people, places, and events throughout history. A Pocket Guide to Writing in History emphasized that a
In modern days, scientific discourse between ‘normal’ and ‘revolutionary’ scientists has raised questions about what they should or shouldn 't give proper attention and further study. One example of this, is the orthodox narrative of modern human history shared by geologists and archaeologists around the world, which tells us that the first technologically advanced human civilizations started in Mesopotamia around 3,000-5,000 BC. However, a series of evidence brought forth by two science skeptics and scientists suggest that the current narrative of our history could be inaccurate. They argue that it’s possible that a lost, technologically advanced ancient civilization mapped and explored the globe with great accuracy millennia before orthodox human history tells. From this debate arises a question: Should scientists focus exclusively on driving the current paradigm to its limits and not bother challenging it, even if other theories and scientific evidence defy the paradigm?
History is a discipline based on textual accounts of the past however it became necessary to look closer. A group of French historians watched as countless historians drew the same conclusions from the same experiences time after time, divorcing themselves from the “new social scientist adventuring among the economies and societies of the present.” The Annales school is interested in a science of humanity, human activities. “The function of the historian is not to declare that such a thought is objectively right or wrong but to state, or to suggest, what circumstances, in a particular time, made it thinkable.” The scholars of the Annales school used non-historians as much
One example of this is the mystery of the world, Stonehenge. Today Stonehenge is a mystery of actually who built it and why it was built, but historians have a good guess of what it was used for. Gerald Hawkins thought Stonehenge could have used as a supercomputer to predict lunar eclipses. This is most likely drive putting modern ideas want to see that there were people more advance like our civilization today. Anthony Aveni the author of Stairways to the Stars: Skywatching in Three Great Ancient Cultures he talks about Richard Atkinson, an archaeologist who disagrees with Hawkin. Aveni writes “What bothered Atkinson more that all of the procedural complaints was that what Hawkins contended about the astronomical knowledge of Bronze Age society did not square with what we know of the people who built the great structure, who were regarded as barbarian (p.69).” This was a problem for Atkinson because it did not make sense for why farming and hunting people would want to keep track of the sun and moon. On top of this it would have taken years to get accurate measurements, and for a generation who did not have writing, it would be extremely difficult. There are historians that have good evidence that does suggest what Stonehenge was actually used for. Stonehenge itself was mostly used to a calendar. This is seen when the rising of the summer solstice the longest day of the year and setting
History is the study of the past. It is the combination of many different interpretations divided over different languages, cultures, and individuals. It is “fragments of knowledge that we put together” (Bishop). With that said, I believe that new information will disturb the already unstable model of the historical past. This is demonstrated through history’s influence on our emotion and sense perception.
It’s truly fascinating how there are so many different approaches to history, how so many different types of minds and schools of thought can come together to study the events of the world’s past. There are so many ways to approach what happened in our past, and the groups of historians previously mentioned are only a fraction of the actual number of different ways of researching and thinking that exists as it pertains to the study of history. History is in some ways, always a mystery, and all historians, regardless of schooling, training or biases, seek to accomplish one goal: to understand what occurred before us and why, and to use that knowledge to learn how the world was shaped into the world we live in today.
To study history, the facts and information must be passed down. To do so, historians record the information in textbooks and other nonfiction works. Whether or not the historians retell facts or construct their own version of history is debatable. History can be percieved as being “constructed” by the historians due to their bias, elimination of controversy, strive for entertainment, and neglect to update the information.
Though at times one can be told to not dwell on the past, the study of history is complete different means. After reading the papers, Why Study History? by Jerry Bentley and Why Study History (1998) by Peter N. Stearns, the many complex reasons of why one should study history were made clear. Both authors addressed that history teaches change and human nature, referencing known reasons that make history relevant in everyone’s life. Author Bentley made his writing focus around the theme of making connections and gaining a basic understanding of the current world around us. On the other hand, author Stearns wrote mainly that history is important to the functioning of our modern day societies, for it adds skills and moral values. The study of
Millions of people have gone great lengths to record every part of the past. We may not know much about the future but we have more than enough information about the past. The knowledge about our past has helped us in many ways. Historians, teachers, doctors, students, lawyers and many more have relied on history books and researches on significant events in history to prove their point. The question why history matters has been asked many times. It has been asked by students, teachers and parents sometimes. Some people may see this question as ridiculously easy but I see it as one of the hardest ones yet asked. Does History matter? This question can’t be answered in one sentence. Try asking people why history is important and the answer is usually “It’s to learn from our mistakes”. It’s not right to summarize over 4 billion years of history in one sentence. This question can be easily answered in numerous ways. I would side with the numerous historians who say history holds huge significance. History is older than any object or human being we have ever come across. History has proved itself significance with the help of human beings. We, the people have used history and made it one the most significant thing in present. History holds itself significant because it has helped us understand human behaviors, change in societies, mistakes influential figures have made in past, the past events occurrence and many other reasons. The most important reason is that history protects us by preparing us for the incoming. This essay would analyze the importance of history today by using the past events for evidence.
History is a story told over time. It is a way of recreating the past so it can be studied in the present and re-interpreted for future generations. Since humans are the sole beneficiaries of history, it is important for us to know what the purpose of history is and how historians include their own perspective concerning historical events. The purpose and perspective of history is vital in order for individuals to realise how it would be almost impossible for us to live out our lives effectively if we had no knowledge of the past. Also, in order to gain a sound knowledge of the past, we have to understand the political, social and cultural aspects of the times we are studying.
History is the bridge that connects the past with the present. Without history, we have no future. The past gives value to our present. David C. McCullough stated, “History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. History is who we are and why we are the way we are”. I agree with McCullough, history gives us a purpose. History allows us to investigate and interpret the past in order to see how we developed and where we came from. We can get an idea of what has influenced our past and present, and also what will shape our future. We can see what previous generations did and whether or not t...
Learning about history helps us learn about the humanities own reflection and what’s good or bad about it. This is just like a diary , people and by people I mean historians , just wrote what they saw and what seemed to cause a major change in society and we just happen to be reading it a couple of years later. I believe that historians actually wrote historical truth because it makes sense and it has been scientifically proven
Now that I had one semester of History of Science, I feel that something should change and that all objective classes are worthless without a little influence of humanity. It matters to me because scientists and professors should give more importance to History of Science when forming new scientists; first, because it would avoid falling in the same pitfalls of the past, and second, because more than science, when discussing History, we can reflect about our society, the origin of our problems, and take a good perspective of what is coming next. It is sad to know that women and some “minorities” still do not have the same chances of completing a graduation or reaching a doctorate, but it would be still sadder knowing that no one is talking about it. I am not saying that talking about it will solve anything, but it is, for sure, the first step towards changing. Words have power, it is true, but it was those with action who wrote
Our basic objective is to examine the scientific developments through history and how they affect human life and society. To meet that objective we will first develop tools to analyze the relationship between science and the increasingly complex decisions we have to make regarding the way we apply science for human welfare.
We can use the word history in so many ways and it can have so many meanings and usages. We often find that using the term history without considering the underlying concepts can be troublesome at best. In some instances we use the word history to articulate an actual event that has happened prior to today. We can also say history to show a timeline that includes a group of events or actions. We try to learn from history but often find ourselves repeating the patterns depending on if we have learned anything previous history, sometimes repeating because we did learn effective uses of past history. We want things to be consistent, in our minds we want to repeat those things that went well and avoid the things that did not. So many things are locked in our minds and psychology is our way of unlocking those thoughts and processes from the mind. What makes us who we are is history; it also makes society what it is. Because we have an understanding of our history it will always influence the present.