purpose of studying History

Today I am writing on a purpose of studying history and the significance of history I think that Every branch of knowledge has some purpose. If a particular branch of knowledge is not serving any purpose, it is of no use. History too serves some purpose and the importance of the subject depends upon the purpose it serves.

History serves the obvious purpose of entertainment by showing how things have come to be as they are.

§  1 Herodotus, the father of history, is full of amusing stories but he has not comprised the dignity of the subject.

§  2 This entertainment value of history is acceptable everywhere in the world.

§  3 People are also interested in history because it provides satisfaction to the curiosity of a person.

§  4 It shows them how things have become what they are and by studying history one may find many things that are unknown to him already. As in the case of social sciences, the study of history is helpful in the understanding of other disciplines.

§  5 As if we are to study how our present political system has come into existence or if we are to study how our present day social institutions have evolved we are to go to the past, which is the subject matter of history. The same is the case with other disciplines studying society in the present or planning for the future that they cannot function well without a historical perspective.History only wants to show what happened. “The strict presentation of the facts is the supreme law of historiography.” Historian is to tell the truth, nothing but the truth.

§  6 So when the business of history is to tell the truth or what really happened, it is by history that we learn much about the past. To understand something of the society, culture, politics and economic order of the earlier times, history enables one to rise above his own present circumstances and all this gives awareness and self-understanding.

§  7 We know more than our ancestors knew and we acquire more command over the forces of nature.

§  8 The study of history is also essential for self-knowledge.

§  9 One’s knowledge about oneself is increased, when one learns about the past. History is a human self-knowledge. It is thought that it is of basic importance to man that he should know himself. From history we know what man has done and what he is.

§  10 It is essential for man to increase his own knowledge which is only possible through the study of history because it deals with the past and tells us what had happened. Through history we come to know those things that were not known to us earlier. The study of history is not the study of the isolated past but it is the study of one society in relation to the other i.e. the society of today and that of yesterday.

§  11 The main purpose of the historian is self-understanding. He may want to understand himself, his people, and by understanding the experience of the earlier generations one can become better.

§  12 So by this way history gives us better understanding of ourselves. History can teach lessons. All writers from Thucydides to modern period are of this view that history teaches lessons. It teaches wise humility; and in the moment of darkness, confusion or pain, it teaches a wise patience.

§  13 It is a pre-supposition of history that man is capable by the experiences of his predecessors and progress in the history rests on the acquired skills which include the capacity to master, transform and utilize one’s environment.

§  14 History, after enquiring into the minds of every order, gives some lessons that are based on wisdom. So it is said that history is a guide for the present and for the future.

§  15 There are critics who say that the events of the past are the unique events and history cannot be generalized. But history, according to E.H. Carr, is not concerned with the unique but with what is general in the unique.

§  16 In history, we cannot separate them. The study of history contains innumerable instances that may find their parallels in other times and places. Therefore, the study of history enables us to draw lessons. For instance, it is from history we learn that whenever there was an undue increase in the land revenue, there were revolts. Thus it is a lesson.It is also said that from the successes and failures of the people in the past we may learn something to guide our actions in the present. But it is also necessary that value of history, in this sense, should not be over-estimated because conditions of the present are vastly different from those of the past and their ideas and forms of conduct are different from those of the present.

§  17 But it does not mean that we cannot learn anything from history rather we learnt much from it. As in the case of the situation in the Punjab. We have learned that whenever the religious feelings of the Sikhs were hurt, they rose against the authority, whosoever it may be. That is why the Indian government after independence has tried its level best to avoid interference in the religious affairs of the Sikhs. However, when Mrs. Indira Gandhi attacked the Golden Temple, whatsoever the circumstances would have been, there was all round resentment among the Sikhs, which culminated in her murder.History is a dialogue between the events of the past and progressively emerging future ends.

§  18 It is so because with the passage of time we have come to know much more about the past and with its experience we can suggest something for the future. It is due to history that mankind is moving from good to better.

§  19 It is only on the basis of the past knowledge that we can say something in the present and also mould it to suit the future. But all this is possible if we have grasped the problem fully, i.e. the past of the problem and its every aspect.The lessons that history offers make it possible to comprehend the events of today and to foresee the future.

§  20 So it is rightly said that future is shaped with the help that past offers.

§  21 It is so that one learns from history, because among other things, it tells us that what were the follies committed in the  past and what was its outcome. So one with the experience of the past, moulds one’s coming times to such direction so that nothing should happen in future which must be harmful to the society. In a nutshell, the dual task of history is to enable man to understand the society in the past and also to increase his mastery over the society of the present.

§  22 To give people full sense of their future one needs to have, first of all, a full sense of one’s past, which is possible only through history.

§  23 Though the past act is dead, yet by re-enacting the thought historically we can use that heritage for our own advancement in future.

§  24 History helps us to understand how the world has developed as it is and also promotes the knowledge of human nature.

§  25 History is invaluable in increasing our knowledge of human nature, because it shows how people may be expected to behave in new situation.26 So history tells us what really has happened in the past and it suggests remedies for the present and guides our future. All this, i.e. to know the past is possible only through history.

References:

1. Jacques Barzun & Henry F. Graff, The Modern Researcher, Harcourt Brace Javanvich, New York 1977, p.11.

2. Bertrand Russel, Understanding History, Philosophical Library, New York 1957, pp. 18-19.

3. Allan Nevins, The Gateway to History, Vora & Co., Bombay 1968, p.21.

4. John C.B. Webster, An Introduction to History, Macmillan, Delhi 1977, p.1.

5. R.G. Collingwood, The Idea of History, Oxford University Press, New York 1976 (reprint), 205.

6. Hans Meyerhoff, The Philosophy of History in our own times, Doubleday Anchor Books, NewYork 1959, pp. 13- 16.

7. John C.B. Webster, op cit, 165.

8. Bertrand Russel, op cit, 54-55.

9. R.G. Collingwood, op cit, 292.

10. Ibid, 134.

11. E.H. Carr, What is History?, Penguin Books, London 1977 (reprint), p.5.

12. John C.B. Webster, op cit, 24.

13. Allan Nevins, op cit, 19-21.

14. E.H. Carr, op cit, 117.

15. Allan Nevins, op cit, 19-21.

16. E.H. Carr, op cit, 63.

17. Alban G. Widgery, The Meaning of History, George Allan & Unwin, London 1967, pp. 13-14.

18. E.H. Carr, op cit, 121-123.

19. Ibid, 125.

20. L. Vidyasova, “Turning Points of History”, in International Affairs (ed. V.P. Shafranov), Progress Publications, Moscow July 1981, p. 131.

21. John Webster, op cit, 13.

22. E.H. Carr, op cit, 55.

23. Ibid, 58.

24. R.G. Collingwood, op cit, 230.

25. Bertrand Russel, op cit, 10.

26. Ibid, 25.