Daily Times

Whatever goes into the past is a matter of history, which remains in the making until somebody sits down to record it. Studying history is important because it allows us to understand our past, which in turn allows us to understand our present. Studying history can provide us with insight into our cultures of origin as well as cultures with which we might be less familiar, thereby increasing cross-cultural awareness and understanding. It is a way of recreating the past so it can be studied in the present and re-interpreted for future generations. Since humans are the sole beneficiaries of history, it is important for us to know what the purpose of history is and how historians include their own perspective concerning historical events. The first foundations of all history are the recitals of the fathers to the children, transmitted afterward from one generation to another.

There are certain clichés surrounding the subject of history which needs to be examined before we proceed further. One of these clichés is that ‘the history repeats itself.’ On a closer examination, it would appear that history never repeats itself. History never travels in circles, but in a straight line, because the multiple factors which were at work at one point of time are not necessarily the same at another time. If history could actually repeat itself, then prediction about the future course of events would have been very easy. But history has never helped the man to foresee future with any degree of certainty. Future has always remained elusive because history cannot incorporate all the currents of time which were at work when a particular event had been unfolding in the past. Thus history literally cannot repeat itself. Experience has shown that no two events in history were the result of precisely the same factors. It is impossible for us to know for certain the multiplicity of causes and effects that make up continuous change in human life. There are themes in history that do repeat and there may even be some cycles, but even then, the specifics are really very different. The deep nuances and spirit of the past time in leading to a particular result are invariably different from those of the present time. One may be able to make some guesswork about what may happen in future based on the past history, but one cannot precisely predict what may be the outcome in future due to the difference of vast multiplicity of factors between the past and the present. And unfortunately the best of the historians are not even able to take into account all the multiple factors which were at work in shaping the results of a past occurrence. And even if one does, who would judge that all the political, cultural and local traditions and customs of the past were precisely akin to those of the present to make a good prediction about the future? Hence on a scientific basis, the proposition that history repeats itself cannot be accepted with any degree of certainty.

History teaches us that the laws of biology apply uniformly to all human beings and animal kingdom alike, and all species are subject to the trials of selection and the struggle for existence

It is an irony that people have short memories and they do not learn from history. But if one keenly studies history and learns from its themes and currents, one can avoid mistakes committed in the past. For example in World War 1 the same European nations which fought in that war fought again in World War 2, with the result that there was a far greater manslaughter at the end of World War 2,and then they realized that war was not a solution. Thus, one is may be led to conclude in the words of Mark Twain: “History does not repeat itself, but it does rhyme.”

Most histories are subjective and vague, and coloured by the imagination and bias of the historians. Very few histories are truly objective and impartial. An historian has to normally depend on some source to get information of the past. Before the invention of printing press, his task was indeed difficult, and his sources were buried in antiquity and were available to him only from secondary sources, in fragmentary form and were mostly vague and uncertain. Thus the ancient history, unless supported by strong evidence and un-assailable antecedents is based on myths, surmises and half-truths. History for its authenticity depends on strong and credible sources which are mostly available after printing became in vogue. Most histories are prejudicial or biased in accordance with the subjective mind of the historian. Winston Churchill declared that since most histories were recorded by the victors, therefore those are biased and un-authentic. Thus it is in the very nature of historiography that it is coloured by the thoughts and predilections of the historians and are not truly objective and impartial, which is indeed a tragic fact about history.

Now the next question is: what are the common lessons of history which have trickled down to us through the ages. To find an answer to this vital question, I feel it my privilege to be guided by Will & Ariel Durant, Pulitzer Prize winning historians, who are famed for writing ‘The Story of Civilization’, a massive 9766-page, 11-volume treatise of the entirety of Western history. I personally feel that the only natural limitation of this magnum opus is that it gives us the perspective of the historians of the West, whose chief focus is on the Western history and civilization. We wish that someday a historian from the Eastern hemisphere will likewise give us his or her perspective too. But since human nature and motives everywhere are the same, therefore the result concluded by Will and Ariel Durant equally apply to the history and civilization of the Eastern hemisphere. In my view this is the first attempt by any historian to look at the entire history known to the man, so deeply and so intensely to discover their common features and patterns with such exactitude. Their description reads like a story written in a plain, pragmatic and persuasive manner which I cannot call to account in my own dry handling of this sensitive subject. A major part of their treatise deals with history’s relationship with earth, race, religion and economics etc. which for my present purpose are not very relevant. According to them, the most important recurring patterns in history, which may in other words be termed as the lessons of history can be briefly stated as under:

(1) History teaches us that the laws of biology apply uniformly to all human beings and animal kingdom alike, and all species are subject to the trials of selection and the struggle for existence. In other words, the principle that ‘might is right’, applies to all organism alike. Human nature has largely been unchanged throughout history – the means change, but the motives stay the same.

(2)Inequality among humans is inherent in the unequal distribution of inborn ability. Each invention is exploited by the strong to make themselves stronger, and the weak weaker.

(3)Freedom and equality are fundamentally opposed. The best that egalitarians can hope for in a free society is an approximate equality of legal justice and educational opportunity.

(4) Morals change with the times as a reflection of what is necessary to grow and survive.

(5) Agriculture spurred the importance of hard work and regularity more than violence and bravery.

(6) Religion has been constantly present in history in some form or other. As long as there is poverty, religion reigns supreme. On the positive side, it provides spiritual comforts, while on the negative side it has been used as a tool of the state to legitimize power and often leading to corrupt abuses of power (e.g. the Crusades)

(7) Every economic system must rely on some form of profit motive to stir people to productivity. A constant friction in societal structure remains between the rulers and the ruled. The natural progression of government is from monarchy to aristocracy to democracy and back again. Like a heartbeat, societies alternate in cycles of wealth concentration and redistribution (violent or peaceful).

(8) War is also a constant. There were only 268 years when there was no war out of 3421 years of history. The motive for war is to secure more resources and power, for pride, and to survive under threat.

(9) Philosophers have always mused about the futility of war, but the generals understand that war is the final arbiter of history.

(10) Civilizations have grown and decayed with great regularity. The decay comes as a failure of leadership to meet new challenges (be it natural or man-made) and often ended with a defeat in war.

The writer is a former member of the Provincial Civil Service, and an author of Moments in Silence