How is history relevent to the present?

Question

detailed answers are appreciated.

Answer 1

History is relevant to the present because WE ARE the past: we are the sum of all the events--good, bad, and indifferent--that have happened to us. This sum product guides our actions in the present.

This is true not only for the individual (imagine what would have happened to you had your parents never met, or had your parents raised you with different values), but for large societies as well (how would the U.S. be different, for example, if it had lost the American Revolution, or if the Spanish had founded the colonies of North America that became the United States?). In both cases the United States as we know it would not exist.

The only way we can understand who we are and how we got to be that way is by studying the past. Similarly, the only way we can understand others is by studying their past. If we don't understand what made them who they are--in terms of how they think and act--we will make all sorts of mistakes in our interactions with them. Think of how you treat people differently based on how you know them. The same is true for countries when it comes to diplomacy. Our failures in Iraq were borne of a limited understanding of who they are (because we haven't taken the time to truly study and understand their past).

"We study the past to understand the present; we understand the present to guide the future." -- William Lund

Hope these ideas help!

Answer 2

Many many many many reasons:

A couple of the biggest.

1. Time is not a stagnant force. As I am typing, the letters that are behind the cursor are part of history, and the cursor just keeps moving along. Such is everything in time. The last breath you took, the last decision you made, the last food you ate. All compiled together, makes YOUR history and rolls right by the present moment to keep adding up to the past. So separating the past from the present is really quite impossible.

2. Since our past and our present, individual and as a family, a community, or a society are so tightly woven together...they are bound to affect each other. Events from the past lay the foundation for and lead into what you do next. Knowing this and using it to your advantage with goal-setting, allows you to use the past (life experience) and the present (your attitude, your actions) to steer you into a certain future...if you live with intention.

3. If you don't live with intention, and you don't know your history, then you are basically clueless to recognizing your place in the world. Understanding our history gives us a chance to step back and see ourselves in context of the larger world. It allows you to compare and contrast the patterns of others, and other times in your own life...so that you can either follow or avoid them to suit yourself and your goals. If you don't know about history, you can't recognize your mistakes, and you are bound to repeat them.

Answer 3

History is more relevant to making decisions in the future than the present. What is the present anyway, but an instant in time. No instant of time in the past could ever have been the same as the current instant in time, so that means that the past could only be relevant to the past and the future.

Answer 4

Knowledge give you the tools to deal with everyday life. The more you know the more prepared you are for different situations. You have to depend less on the opinions of others and it improves your chance to build networking connections with other educated people. This includes all knowledge, from cinema to science and, yes, history.

Specifically history allows us, as individuals, to understand world events and know when our leaders or the media are full of krap. History gives us a better perspective on the world we live in and a better grasp of our own place in it.

It comes down to a question. How big do you want you're world to be. Would you want to hut yourself off, have few friends, leave the TV and Radio off and only interact with those you had to? Of course not. History is one aspect of expanding you're world. It takes you beyond what you see, back in time, to see where it all came from.

Answer 5

They say that
"History repeats itself"
and
"Those who do not remember history are condemned to repeat it"

History shows the logical consequences of actions and
peoples motives.

Some say that "God reveals himself through history"

While Hollywood may thrive on irony, the *un*expected result,
history (even if written by the victors) may have more basis in reality.

Answer 6

Well the most basic way it's relevant is by learning from mistakes that've been made in the past and try not to make them again.

Answer 7

Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. Remember the Holocaust, the Civil War and, more recently, 911? We don't want either of those to happen again, therefor, we take precautions to avoid landing ourselves in the same predicament.

Answer 8

2 seconds ago was history

Answer 9

How do you know where to go if you don't know where you are?