why study history?- Chris Modlin

I was doing some thinking a while ago, and I began to wonder why people spend so much time studying history. After all, it doesn't seem quite as practical as studying something like agriculture or medicine (Doctors go to school to learn how to save lives, History teachers go to school to learn how to.......?). But as I thought more I realized there are definite benefits to studying history.

First of all, it helps us better understand who we are as humans. When you look at all of human history and see the things that HAVEN'T changed, you realize those seem to be natural elements of who we are. After 8,000 years of technological progress, we're still prone to horrific violence in the name of wealth, religion, or sex. Most likely, that will never change. It's who we are.

Another important benefit is not only learning bad ideas from the past, but also good ones. We study bad ideas s0 we know not to repeat them (oppressing the workforce, having psychopaths as kings, invading Russia during the winter, ect). But there is benefit to studying good ideas too. After all, our federal highway system is an idea we took from the Romans (although the Persians came up with it first). Our democracy is based on good ideas from the Greeks and the Native Americans. If, when studying history, one comes across an idea that sounds good, it would be wise to try and use it. For example, study Caesar's reform of the Roman Welfare system. That sounds like something we ought to try.