THE NEED FOR THE STUDY OF HISTORY
The study of history is commonly regarded as essential to a full education. It
figures prominently in school syllabuses; history departments in universities are well-
populated; and publishers' lists are crowded with historical titles. Why? Because it is
widely believed that the modern world cannot be properly conceived without
a
knowledge of the past: as a historian once said, the most significant benefit of
studying history is discovering "the origin of things present which are to be found in
things past; for a reality is never better understood than through its causes." Besides
this, the study of history can help men predict the future on the basis of the past,
often by reasoning about parallel events. However, very frequent appeals to the past
as a means of solving problems in modern society can sometimes be misleading.
Thus, when studying history, men shouldn't expect past events to repeat themselves
infallibly, nor should they try to predict the future merely on the basis of very
fragmentary evidence, underestimating the genuinely radical changes in society over
the years.
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