Can
we learn from history? Can we apply the "lessons of history" to the
issues of today? How does an event that happened 300 years in the past have
relevance to the decisions we have to make today? These are some of the themes
that I want to explore on this site. If an individual can learn from her or his
past mistakes and accomplishments, why can't a person, or a nation, or indeed
the whole human species learn from history? We need not look at only the great
events that made revolutionary changes to gain beneficial historical
perspectives. We can learn from the history of slow evolutionary change that
often takes place under the surface of great historical events (social history
has been gaining momentum in academia since the 1960s probably for this very
reason). It is not just the "great minds" or the great political
leaders that create history, but the great mass of individuals that constitute
societies and nations that are the driving force of historical change. This is
not to detract from the role of specific individuals but to emphasize that
without the support of "the people" - the vast majorities -
evolutionary change is not possible.
History is the long chronology of events leading from some distant
point in the past to the present. This chronology constitutes the evidential
proofs for explaining the present. The study of history is the examination and
reconstruction of this chronology and the analysis and interpretation of the
evidence that results from such an examination. Societies and historians
frequently reinterpret historical events in ways which reflect changing values
and interests. When matters of great national significance come up we are often
reminded of the lessons of history. The lessons of the 1930s are often appealed
to in situations where there is a percieved aggression or breach of
international law....etc. revise
Anniversaries of historical events often lead to renewed public
interest in certain aspects of history. Memorial days are often days of
reflection as well as remembrance. The thirtieth anniversary of the
assasination of President John F.Kennedy stirred up an emotional re-examination
of that historical event, spurred on by Oliver Stone's film
"JFK",which implicated high governmental and military officials in
Kennedy's assasination. The significance and legacy of the Watergate affair
which led to President Nixon's resignation continues to be debated twenty-five
years after the fact; and the widely percieved need for campaign reform has
brought a renewed vigor to the debate.
The
study of history can have practical applications in many areas of human
endeavor. If one wishes to understand the nature of politics in society then
one should look at the history of politics. In the same manner, an
understanding of human behavior and psychology requires a knowledge of history.
The theories of pyschoanalysis may be applied to the understanding of historical
processes in an interesting and perhaps useful manner. Psychoanalysis is a
method of understanding and treating mental illnesses developed by the Austrian
psychologist Sigmund Freud, reputed as the father of modern pyschology, around
the turn of the 19th and into the 20th century. Freud's methods of uncovering
the causes of mental disorders and overcoming the disorders through probing the
patient's unconscious led to important breakthroughs in the understanding of
human behavior that underlie some of the basic propositions of modern
psychology. Although some of Freud's theories have been discredited or
disregarded, his basic theories on the structure of the mind, especially the
unconscious, continue to have monumental implications and contributions to the
study and understanding of human psychology. Early on in Freud's career as a
clinical psychologist he discovered that many of the patients he treated had
mental neuroses which were rooted in sexual causes, especially originating in
the patient's childhood. Freud would use this experience as the basis for many
of his later theories on human behavior in general. In "Civilization and
Its Discontents" Freud developed the idea of sublimation. Sublimation is a
process whereby the Ego, pursuing the "reality principle", converts
the Id's unrealistic desires for sexual fulfillment (the "pleasure
principle"), to more realistic, attainable goals. According to Freud,
culture is the result of the sublimation of sexual urges and the transference
of libidinal energy to things like art, music, and other creative endeavors.
Perhaps a more interesting theory, at least for historical analysis, which
Freud developed later, is that of Eros and Thanatos. Eros (named after the
Greek mythological figure of love, who was the son of Aphrodite, and known
mainly by his Roman name, Cupid) is the representation of all the instincts of
life and the promotion of life; including love, sexual reproduction and
behaviors and endeavors which lead to the continuation of life and the survival
of the species. Thantos, after the Greek god of death, represents all of the
human instincts which drive for the destruction of life, exhibited in such
behaviors as war, aggression, the urge to kill, the desire to harm, and all
behaviors which lead to the extinction of life. Humanity not only yearns for
life and immortality but, according to the wishes of Thanatos, desires to
return to the inanimate, inorganic, state of nature from whence it sprung. Eros
craves the Fountain of Youth and Life Everlasting; Thanatos craves rest and
eternal sleep. Perhaps the anxiety of life is being torn between these
conflicting desires. Psychohistory, which is what I am referring to, could be
an insightful approach of historical analysis to the understanding of mass
movements or major shifts in historical development. The rise of the National
Socialist movement in Germany in the 1930s, the American Revolution, the French
Revolution,the rise of nationalism as a historical phenomenon, liberalism and
democratic revolutions, reactionary movements, wars of conquest, wars of
revenge, extended periods of peace, advances in culture and technology, and
periods of cultural decadence; all these historical phenomena lend themselves
to pyschological investigation. To understand the past is to better grasp the
present and to grasp the present is to advance and guide the future.
All
life forms are mortal. Humans are life forms. Therefore, humans are mortal.
This sad, somber and sobering syllogism is a reality that we all must face,
at least at some point in our lives. The psychical impact of this reality
must be very real and very deep. I believe that there is an intimate connection
between this reality of human mortality and the human interest and fascination
with history. What explains the human fascination with the past? When we look
into the past, and see people just like us, living in places that may be familiar,
in situations that may be similar to our own, or at least with which we can
relate - we may come to the realization that these same people who lived,
breathed, struggled, loved, hated, feared, perhaps warred and killed, and
felt everything we are capable of feeling - these same people have passed
from this earth, possibly never to be seen or heard from among the living
again. These images of the past may give one the sensation that life is somehow
illusory, or, at the very least, passing. This evanescent quality of life
which looking into the past may remind us of, is often a very disturbing reality.
Some shirk from dealing with this aspect of mortality at a conscious level,
perhaps repressing the anxiety-provoking thoughts deep into the realms of
the unconscious. Some try to understand it, perhaps with the hope of lessening
the pain and anguish which thoughts of their own mortality and of temporality
often provoke. We often try to avoid the things that are most painful in our
lives by turning our thoughts and directing our energies to things or activities
that tend to alleviate our fears and give us pleasure, comfort, and hope.
Our fears may be suppressed or even surpassed through the realization or discovery
of something transcending our own lives. History may give us a perspective
that is almost essential to this transcendence of self. History is the sum
of universal experience. The more we know and understand history, the more
we know and understand our own place in the universe and the possiblities
for our future. History can give direction toward helping us find meaning
or purpose for our own lives. Through history our lives may become part of
something greater than ourselves, part of a common human destiny. Though we
may not know where this will all end up, we each can do a part toward making
it reality. The shaping of this destiny is what making history is all about.
Religion need not be excluded; it may be part of our common goal. Where we
end up, however, is largely, if not completely, of our own making that confront
us may be somewhat imbalanced. The European Renaissance of the late 15th and
16th centuries, which ushered in the modern era, and the Scientific Revolution
which followed gave popularity to the sentiment that there is no limit to
human progress, and science was the method to get from the dark gloom of the
present to the bright promise of the future. Religion and the "Age of
Faith" gave way to the Enlightenment and the "Age of Reason".
Science, not religion, now held the answers to the questions which puzzled
the mind and became the bright beacon of hope for improving the human condition.
Perhaps the illuminating perspective of time will compel us to realize that
science alone comes too short toward giving us a proper understanding of the
human condition. Science gives us a method for understanding our physical
world and systematizing our thoughts and ideas, allowing us to make great
strides toward improving our well-being. Science allows us to quantify things.
History allows us to qualify things. Perhaps a rigourous examination of history
which makes use of scientific principles and the scientific method can provide
a more balanced and systematic understanding of our place in the universe.