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Does history matter?

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Does History matter?

Whilst history is often fascinating to learn about, and there are vast topics and cultures to cover, one debate that often comes about is whether history actually matters or not. To that end, do you believe history to matter, or to be important? If so, why/why not?

People often say that history repeats itself too... how far do you agree with the statement? And if it were true, would that affect whether you believe history to be important? :holmes:
(edited 7 years ago)
Deifinitely! I think we learn a lot from history about mistakes that were made and to try and not to do them again (although this doesn't always work!). We also learn what went well so we can keep doing it :smile:
If you don't know where you've come from, then you can't even begin to predict where you might be going. That's why history is important.
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Ua3142
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Original post by shadowdweller
Whilst history is often fascinating to learn about, and there are vast topics and cultures to cover, one debate that often comes about is whether history actually matters or not. To that end, do you believe history to matter, or to be important? If so, why/why not?

People often say that history repeats itself too... how far do you agree with the statement? And if it were true, would that affect whether you believe history to be important? :holmes:


woah...yes history is very important. I've recently got interested in ancient Egyptian history and the time before that. Like some historians are saying the sphinx could have been built before the time of the ancient Egyptians, like 10,000 years before, due to signs of water erosion.

There's a load more to learn, investigating our past could reveal surprising answers such as how advanced were ancient civilisations that came before us.

But yh, history is very important
Learning history- specifically being forced to learn specific topics in history- may make it seem boring. But history itself is incredibly important. I think it's really good to know what happened before us. Maybe we could learn from other's mistakes? It's interesting to read about what happened in the pass, and compare it to what's happening now
Idk history is cool :biggrin:
Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it.

- George Santayana
Everything we do is history. I just went to the toilet. That's now history.


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Original post by shadowdweller
Whilst history is often fascinating to learn about, and there are vast topics and cultures to cover, one debate that often comes about is whether history actually matters or not. To that end, do you believe history to matter, or to be important? If so, why/why not?

People often say that history repeats itself too... how far do you agree with the statement? And if it were true, would that affect whether you believe history to be important? :holmes:


History is the legacy of our ancestors, the legacy of our different cultures. What would we know without it about our ancestors? nothing. Would we understand the different cultures in presence, if there are no people who are investigating the past? don't think so. There are people who are interest in societies worldwide and would love to understand how these ones came into being. Is this possible without an understanding for their roots? no.There are surely people who are not interest in such things and don't see sense for history. But people like me need this special knowledge about people's past, so history.

Also, history is a mirror about the (big) mistakes and glory moments of the mankind what formed the years after that up to this day. To understand why our presence is what it is, this knowledge is required.

Last but not least: past forms presence and presence forms future. Learning from the past means to be prepared for the future.*

And that is why - in my honest opinion - history cannot be important enough for people. *
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by BurstingBubbles
Deifinitely! I think we learn a lot from history about mistakes that were made and to try and not to do them again (although this doesn't always work!). We also learn what went well so we can keep doing it :smile:


i think so to, we learn a lot about what happened in the past, the bad is to make sure we can not repeat it or try to and the good is to reflect on what people have achieved
Original post by Galadrielll
Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it.

- George Santayana


The biggest flaw with that quote is it implies that all of history is worse than current circumstances.
Original post by Jammy Duel
The biggest flaw with that quote is it implies that all of history is worse than current circumstances.


Explain why that is? I dont think it means that at all.
What does that quote mean to you?
"Those who can not remember the past are doomed to repeat it."

Some guy.

It needs to be repeated because it is simply true all history, has had a purpose, if you don't want to understand the past then you are going to make the same mistakes.

It needs no explanation because it is obvious.

There's no flaw with the quote because it is simply self evident.

Let's put it this way the world is a bad place, it is, but it is not a place where someone could learn not to increase that bad place.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by 999tigger
Explain why that is? I dont think it means that at all.
What does that quote mean to you?


Doomed to repeat it implies that the repeating is terrible, it somewhat relies on what is repeated. On the flip side the converse isn't true either, remembering the past does not stop the repeating of it, to me it's one of those things people say to sound deep and sophisticated but really is little more than a cliché, not that we should not study the past to improve on it, whether that be adapting what was done in the past in a way we think will improve it, or even just straight up repeat the past.

Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by BurstingBubbles
Deifinitely! I think we learn a lot from history about mistakes that were made and to try and not to do them again (although this doesn't always work!). We also learn what went well so we can keep doing it :smile:


Right. Don't forget to mention the progresses in the past which made our time what it is. :yep:*

History changed the world. And we are history what means we are changing the world for the next generation, for the better or for the worse. **
Original post by Jammy Duel
Doomed to repeat it implies that the repeating is terrible, it somewhat relies on what is repeated. On the flip side the converse isn't true either, remembering the past does not stop the repeating of it, to me it's one of those things people say to sound deep and sophisticated but really is little more than a cliché, not that we should not study the past to improve on it, whether that be adapting what was done in the past in a way we think will improve it, or even just straight up repeat the past.

Posted from TSR Mobile


It is of course reliant on context: we are talking about wars and The Inquisition and all the bad things human beings have done in the quote. The idea that good things have happened in history is of course a reason to know about history. It's not meant to sound sophisticated at all it is simply self evident, and obvious, if it is sophisticated it would be esoteric and more generally hard to understand.

We can both agree that history has very important lessons, of course, good or bad.

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