HISTORY TEACHES US THAT HISTORY TEACHES NOTHING: DISCUSS
HISTORY TEACHES US THAT HISTORY TEACHES NOTHING; DISCUSS?
1.0 INTRODUCTION
All human cultures tell stories about the past, deeds of ancestors, heroes, gods, or animals. Songs sacred to particular peoples were chanted and memorized long before there was any writing with which to record them. Their truth was authenticated by the very fact of their continued repetition. History which can be considered as an account that purports to be true of events and ways of thinking and feeling in some part of the human past stems from this archetypal human narrative activity.
While sharing a common ancestry with myth, legend, epic poetry, and the novel, history has of course diverged from these forms. Its claim to truth is based in part on the fact that all the persons or events it describes really existed or occurred at some time in the past. Historians can say nothing about these persons or events that cannot be supported, or at least suggested, by some kind of documentary evidence. Such evidence customarily takes the form of something written, such as a letter, a law, an administrative record, or the account of some previous historian. In addition, historians sometimes create their own evidence by interviewing people.
In the 20th century, the scope of historical evidence was greatly expanded to include, inter alia, aerial photographs, clothes, motion pictures, and houses etc. Furthermore, all developed countries have their National Archives. This is in recognition of the simple fact that knowledge of the past is essential to society. What happens in the present, and what will happen in the future, is very much governed by what happened in the past. Without a thorough knowledge of past events and circumstances, we could not even attempt to grapple with these problems. Without knowledge of the past we would be without identity, we would be lost on an endless sea of time.
However, it is obvious that knowledge of the past has not brought easy solutions to problems in,
1.0 INTRODUCTION
All human cultures tell stories about the past, deeds of ancestors, heroes, gods, or animals. Songs sacred to particular peoples were chanted and memorized long before there was any writing with which to record them. Their truth was authenticated by the very fact of their continued repetition. History which can be considered as an account that purports to be true of events and ways of thinking and feeling in some part of the human past stems from this archetypal human narrative activity.
While sharing a common ancestry with myth, legend, epic poetry, and the novel, history has of course diverged from these forms. Its claim to truth is based in part on the fact that all the persons or events it describes really existed or occurred at some time in the past. Historians can say nothing about these persons or events that cannot be supported, or at least suggested, by some kind of documentary evidence. Such evidence customarily takes the form of something written, such as a letter, a law, an administrative record, or the account of some previous historian. In addition, historians sometimes create their own evidence by interviewing people.
In the 20th century, the scope of historical evidence was greatly expanded to include, inter alia, aerial photographs, clothes, motion pictures, and houses etc. Furthermore, all developed countries have their National Archives. This is in recognition of the simple fact that knowledge of the past is essential to society. What happens in the present, and what will happen in the future, is very much governed by what happened in the past. Without a thorough knowledge of past events and circumstances, we could not even attempt to grapple with these problems. Without knowledge of the past we would be without identity, we would be lost on an endless sea of time.
However, it is obvious that knowledge of the past has not brought easy solutions to problems in,
Bibliography: 1 Carr, Edward H. (1961). What is History? p.108 2 Evans, Richard J. "The Two Faces of E.H. Carr". History In Focus. An article published by Palgrave, 2001. 3 Marwick, Arthur ‘The Nature of History’ The MacMillian Press LTD. pg. 169, 1970. 4 Professor Arthur Marwick in his article titled ‘The Fundamentals of History’ In E. H. Carr 's ‘What Is History? 5 Whitney, W. D. The Century dictionary; an encyclopaedic lexicon of English language. New York: The Century Co, 1889. 6 Encarta Microsoft Electronic Dictionary 2010 edition 7 Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. 8 Hegel’s Lectures on Philosophy of History which was assessed online on the 3rd of November, 2013. 9 Achebe, Chinua. The Trouble with Nigeria, Enugu: Fourth Dimension Publishing. Co. Ltd.Reprinted 1998. Print.