History is colorblind and can develop a civilization under any race and in nearly any circumstance. War is, paradoxically, the driver of much technological change and cultural change that leads to long periods of peace afterward. Christopher Bond . Every religion should preach morality, not theology.
The historian will not mourn because he can see no meaning in human existence except that which man puts into it; let it be our pride that we ourselves may put meaning into our lives, and sometimes a significance that transcends death.
Idea: It makes sense to me that intelligence and bipedal walking co-evolved. My main interest was basically history and literature. This is my book summary of The Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant. The lowliest strata in civilized states may still differ only slightly from barbarians, but above those levels thousands. You should never trust an old man to be the judgment of youth because they would just cut off the bold things youth would do before they could do them. If the majority of abilities are contained within a minority of men (that is, if a few people have more valuable skills than most others), then a minority rule is as inevitable as a disproportionate concentration of wealth. But it was only after science was created that we had a wild gamble that proved worthy of the battle. capital to the provinces; a state treasury completely bare. 1. Not the other way around. They are millions of years old. The only real revolution is in the enlightenment of the mind and the improvement of character, the only real emancipation is individual, and the only real revolutionists are philosophers and saints.”, “Ideally parentage should be a privilege of health, not a by-product of sexual agitation. Then, eventually, there is some fracturing of the order, a new minority rises to power, and the pattern repeats itself. Nature likes large litters and the struggle for survival that ends up selecting the strongest few. Theoretically there must have been some change; natural selection has presumably operated upon psychological as well as upon physiological variations. 35 Human Learnings from “The Lessons of History” by Will & Ariel Durant. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Yes, immorality and crime still persisted, but the forces of religion probably dampened their effects. History as it is usually lived is different from history as it is usually written. People dropped like flies from polio and tuberculosis and smallpox and measles. No one individual can ever hope to hold a candle to the insights of humanity as a whole.
Most history is guessing and the rest is prejudice. “We have said that a great civilization does not entirely die…Some precious achievements have survived all the vicissitudes of rising and falling states: the making of fire and light, of the wheel and other basic tools; language, writing, art, and song; agriculture, the family, and parental care; social organization, morality, and charity; and the use of teaching to transmit the lore of the family and the race. The birth rate may determine the fate of belief systems because the more people believe an idea and the more people are trained in an idea (usually the kids of believers), the more that idea will take hold. There is no example in history of a society maintaining moral life among the masses without religion as a force for binding people together. How could they not be? How can we answer this question with science? Competition is the basic law. “Our problem is whether the average man has. Question: how many organisms get selected for? It is very possible that religion has enabled humans to collaborate all throughout history and make civilization possible. ', and 'Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.' And we fully expect it to work. The ideal is not to raise every man to power, but to give him access to each point of entry where his fitness and skill can be tested. Understanding the Past and Present. History is the story of humankind in a struggle with other species and themselves for the limited resources and gifts of the environment. You want to reign in your impulses and weaknesses to the point where they are useful, but not excessive.
Those forces are genetics, culture, environment, and technology. If progress is real, it is not because we are any richer or wiser than those of the past, but because we are born at a higher level and further up the pedestal of our heritage. Only a small fraction of the population could gaze at the moon with deep feeling or enjoy a Shakespeare play or listen to the beautiful music of Dowland.
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Much of what we call intelligence is the result of individual education, opportunity, and experience. Every life, every society, and every species is an experiment. My notes are informal and often contain quotes from the book as well as my own thoughts. It is very dangerous for an individual to think that — even with 30 or 40 years of studying — he can judge and overcome the collective wisdom of the human race. Sports were basically basketball and swimming at a pool. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Since we have admitted no substantial change in man’s nature during historic times, “We should never use the word progress to imply progress in everything. Why does History matter?
In this view all economic history is the slow heartbeat of the social organism, a vast systole and diastole of concentrating wealth and compulsive recirculation.”, “The historian always oversimplifies, and hastily selects a manageable minority of facts and faces out of a crowd of souls and events whose multitudinous complexity he can never quite embrace or comprehend.”, “Utopias of equality are biologically doomed, and the best that the amiable philosopher can hope for is an approximate equality of legal justice and educational opportunity. Common people never rule anything.”, “Man, not the earth, makes civilization.”, “Civilization itself is the most remarkable thing that has ever happened on the planet from our point of view. History is largely the battle of a few minorities, the winner of which is then lauded as the victor by the majority. “History reports that the men who can manage men manage the men who can manage only things, and the men who can manage money manage all.”, “you can’t fool all the people all the time,” but you can fool enough of them to rule a large country.”, “In progressive societies the concentration[of wealth] may reach a point where the strength of number in the many poor rivals the strength of ability in the few rich; then the unstable equilibrium generates a critical situation, which history has diversely met by legislation redistributing wealth or by revolution distributing poverty.”, “The present is the past rolled up for action, and the past is the present unrolled for understanding.”, “The fear of capitalism has compelled socialism to widen freedom, and the fear of socialism has compelled capitalism to increase equality. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Idea: In order for a group to let social instincts override the instincts of each individual, we need powerful beliefs and concepts.
Religion became the propitiatory worship of these forces through offerings, sacrifice, incantation, and prayer.”, “Generally religion and puritanism prevail in periods when the laws are feeble and morals must bear the burden of maintaining social order; skepticism and paganism (other factors being equal) progress as the rising power of law and government permits the decline of the church, the family, and morality without basically endangering the stability of the state.”, “History is, above all else, the creation and recording of that heritage; progress is its increasing abundance, preservation, transmission, and use. Tiny children were forced to do such heavy labor that their bones became deformed, and little girls were forced to become prostitutes on a daily basis. Two examples of huge shifts in our cultural evolution: Copernicus and his discovery that we were but one planet is a vast ocean of planets and galaxies. So, let me tell you a story. Nature loves difference because it is what allow selection to focus on the strong and eliminate the weak.
You cannot make men equal by passing laws. History cannot be a science, only an industry, an art, and a philosophy.
You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Idea: this is a disturbing thought, but once culture and shared thought evolved, we suddenly developed the capacity to perform large swathes of “natural selection” on those who disagree with us. Competition used to be among individuals. The book is amazing. Trusting that you will some time or other do me greater justice than you can do now. History is the map of human character. Is it only the vain and traditional boast of each ‘modern’ generation? History is the most reliable path to understanding the present and anticipating the problems of the future. famous quotations and quotes Learning lessons of history "The biggest challenge facing the great teachers and communicators of history is not to teach history itself, nor even the lessons of history, but why history matters.
This summary includes key lessons and important passages from the book. Most of the poor are victims of racial discrimination and environmental handicaps. Only the man below the average desires equality.
The only real revolutionists are philosophers and saints. Obviously. Man influences his control over the environment as time goes on and technology increases. This is where law and religion and capitalism come into play. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. All consuming toil is usually the price of genius. The only real revolution is in the enlightenment of the mind and the improvement of character.
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