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Fri 13 Jun, 2003 10:38 pm
I have some problem with the slogan for history.
"A man who doesn't know history, doesn't know anything. He's a leaf that doesn't know it's part of a tree."
But suppose the man reads history voraciously. And he becomes a leaf that believes, from his perspective, that he knows the whole tree. Such men are dangerous. They believe in such things as "historical imperative"
and "manifest destiny." They believe that history always repeats itself and that they can predict history.
Check out Karl Popper, author of "The Poverty of Historicism" and one of the most important philosophers of the 20th century. Check out Google for numerous essays on Popper. Popper's main thrust is that belief in historical truths and historical laws leads to totalitarianism.
Quote:But suppose the man reads history voraciously. And he becomes a leaf that believes, from his perspective, that he knows the whole tree. Such men are dangerous. They believe in such things as "historical imperative"
and "manifest destiny." They believe that history always repeats itself and that they can predict history.
You need any help pushing that sweeping generalization up hill, there, Boss? Mr. Popper has had some interesting texts to offer on the history of science. If you have characterized his work correctly here, than he's wandered off the path himself. Marxists buy that dialectic crap--that hardly justifies such a blanket condemnation. Anyone who believes they know everything about anything--including Prof. Popper--is self-delusional.
I was up qiuiite late and wanted to stir the pot. Here is a clearer statement of Popper's book.
Synopsis
Karl Popper's "The Poverty of Historicism" is a devastating criticism of the idea that there are fixed laws in history and that human beings are able to predict them. Popper dedicated the book to all those "who fell victim to the fascist and communist belief in Inexorable Laws of Historical Destiny". It has inspired generations of intellectuals, policy makers and general readers alike. On its publication in 1957, it was hailed by Arthur Koestler as "probably the only book published this year which will outlive the century".
I have always thought that studying history was one way of preventing future atrocities...nobody can 'predict' the future of humankind, but the more informed you are, the more you recognize negative patterns in our so-called 'development' as a species. However, those who do use history to justify horrible things should truly be condemned to be locked up and listen to Journey or Styx on a permanent loop until they die.
Good lookin' out, BillyF, i was rather perplexed, because i've read Popper on the history of science, and couldn't figure out how he'd wandered off--i agree completely with the analysis in your second post.
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