I disagree wholeheartedly that learning about the past has no value for those of us living in the present. In fact, the definition of learning includes the idea of an accumulation of experiences from the past. Learning can only take place if we make an association between things that have happened in the past or between something in the past and something that we predict will happen in the future. All knowledge that we acquire as we grow is from the past-language, customs, academic subjects, and so on. While it may be helpful sometimes to be able to overlook previous knowledge in order to avoid the constraint conformity, the vast majority of knowledge that we learn is a huge boost-imagine if each of us had to discover by ourselves that 2 + 2 = 4! So, in a very real sense, all learning depends on past events.
We are only able to live in this world with our current standard of living because we have learned from the past. We receive knowledge from the past and we are able to use it and improve it. We examine our actions in the past and we make judgments about what was right and what was wrong. Then, it is hoped, we will attempt to avoid those same mistakes again. For example, one of the great mistakes all over the world has been depriving women and the disempowered classes status in society and many industrialized and developing countries all over the world are attempting to avoid such mistakes both in the present and in the future.
Furthermore, all of the knowledge that we have today is a result of all the work of our predecessors. The ancient Greeks developed geometry, which helped other European scientists analyze the solar system, which in turn gave us a new understanding of our place in the universe. The great majority of technology today depends directly on several thousands of years of work of past thinkers. To ignore the knowledge of the past would be to throw away five thousand years of history and experience.
There is, however, some seemingly small, but important value to ignoring the past. It is often the case that history or tradition has the effect of constraining our thought in the present and many important philosophical and scientific breakthroughs have only been possible as a direct result of ignoring the past. The past, in a sense, can blind us to the truth, we can become bound by tradition. For example, at one time, leading thinkers in Europe thought that the Earth was at the center of the universe and those who disagreed were persecuted as heretics, even Copernicus, who we now know was correct about his heliocentric model of the Solar System. However, scientists were eventually able to break from the past and accept the new model of the universe.
In short, learning from and analyzing the past has enormous value for us and life as we know it on Earth today would not be possible without the benefit of thousands of years of history and accumulated knowledge. It is important, however, to ignore the past so that we can make a step forward, and such free thinking should be encouraged, although not at the expense of past knowledge. Learning from the past is something like learning from our parents-in most cases, their past helps us have a better future, but there are times when we need to make a break from the past and make a bold step into an unknown future.
It is often argued that spending much time on studying history is unreasonable, since the information people obtain lacks the practical implementation. However, after careful thought, I have come to disagree with it. I believe that history provides valuable sources for understanding different people and societies, predicting future trends and building a person's identity. History generates past experiences and formulates the steps of development. It provides us with numerous examples of “cause-effect” events, which help to understand different social mechanisms.
Everything that is happening today stems from the past and will have direct effect on the future. Being aware of our history helps to avoid old mistakes and make right decisions. The majority of all the political conflicts have a long history, for instance the Middle East or Russia Chechnya tensions. A closer study of their deeper reasons and the measures taken beforehand can prove to be invaluable in finding the right solution today. It can save thousands of lives.
At the same time, studying history of our own country or region builds up our identity, gives us a feeling of belonging to a certain group of people. Therefore, if we face a problem of communicating with a person of other culture, the basic knowledge of his history can prove absolutely necessary for a successful and productive interaction.
To sum up, I strongly believe that it is highly beneficial for modern people to possess a good knowledge of the history, because it assures a profound understanding of social mechanisms, helps to avoid many mistakes and promotes a better communication between different nations.
Every country, every nation, even every person has its own past, present and future. Events from our past reflect on our present. Events from our present will reflect on our future. The time-line is unbreakable. Therefore no one should live only for today isolated from the past or without any connections to the future.
Every one of us is a member of the society. Living without learning about our history is the same as building a house without foundations. Furthermore, everyone is strongly connected with his past even when he does not comprehend it thoroughly sometimes.
Our life is a result of a series of events from our past. Our success today is a consequence of hard work or some victory in the past. Our present failure is maybe a result of not taking our chances in time or not making a proper decision in the past. I truly believe that everyone makes his own destiny and fate has nothing to do with it.
In my opinion, learning about the past is of great importance to all of us. Even if we are completely devoured by our present existence we should look back to the past as carefully as we can. Thus we can avoid our previous mistakes or to find an easier way to success. In this case history is our best teacher. And if we learn the lessons of the past we will make progress much faster in the present.
We have made our history step-by-step and day-by-day. Those of us who live only in the present and only for today are like trees without roots-so easily 'fragile' in a stormy day. The past is the base on which countries; nations and communities build their present. That is why I think learning about the past has really no value because learning about our history is invaluable.
So let us take a look back to learn a little more about ourselves.
