1.2WhyStudyHistory?

Let'sfaceit,ourfirstexperiencewithHistoryisthatitisacoursethatwehavetotakeinorderto
graduate.AsajuniorandseniorhighschoolstudentweareconfrontedwithAmericanhistory,
statehistoryandperhapsevenageneralcourseinwesterncivilizationorworldhistory.We
didn'thaveachoice.Andthefactthatweareforcedtotakehistoryputsusontheoffensive.We
begintobuildthatgrandiosebrickwallthatwillpreventusfromgettinganythingimportantoutof
history.
ThemainproblemasIseeit,isnothistoryitself.Thestudyofhistorycanbefun.Butthere'sonly
onethingthatcanmakeourfirstexperiencewithhistoryamiserablethingindeed:andthat'sa
poorinstructor.Iwasfortunate.Imanagedtohaveanumberofexcellenthistoryinstructors
throughoutmyhighschoolyearsandthiswasatatimewhenIwasleaningtowardthephysical
sciences,geologyandbiologytobeexact.Imightnothavebeenanexcellenthistorystudent,but
Idorememberhavingexcellenthistoryteachers.
Fine.That'smyexperience.Butexperienceaside,whystudyhistoryinthefirstplace?What
couldhistoryofferthebusinessmajor?thestudentintendingtostudywebpagedevelopment?
thestudenttakingherfirstpsychologyclass?orpremedstudent?orthelawyer?ortheworker
ontheshopfloor?Well,simplystated,everythinghasahistory,whetherwelikeitornot.Even
historyitselfhasahistory.Tryhardaswemight,wecan'tescapethepast.Wecan'tletgoofthe
past.Andwecelebratethepastallthetime.
Youmayhavebeentoldthatwestudyhistorysothatwewon'trepeatthemistakesofthepast.
Thisisthewishfulthinkingschoolofhistoricalinterpretation.It'stooclean.Ifwehavelearned
fromthepastthenoverthecenturiesweoughttohaveaccumulatedsomuchknowledgethat
thingslikewar,poverty,injusticeandimmoralityoughtnottoexist.Ofcourse,we'vestillgota
longwaytogointhisrespect.
Youmayalsohaveheardthateverythingrepeatsitself,soifwestudythepast,wecanbesure
toknowsomethingofthefuture.Idon'tholdtothisvieweither.Toinsistthatthestudyofthepast
willrevealsomethingofthefutureisaniceidea,butwhatIreallywanttoknowaboutisthe
present.Historycannot"tell"thefuture.Historycan,ontheotherhand,revealallthatisthe
present.So,facedaswearewiththequestion"whystudyhistory?"Icanonlyhopetoanswerby
tellingyouwhyIstudyhistory.
Wellfirstoff,bystudyinghistoryyoucanstudyanythingforthesimplereasonthateverythinghas
ahistory:ideas,wars,numbers,races,windsurfing,coalminers,pencils,motherhoodandyes,
eventoilettraining.Ifirstbegantoappreciatethestudyofhistoryasanundergraduatestudying
politicalphilosophyatBostonUniversity.IwasprettykeenonPlato,Aquinas,Dante,Hobbes,
Locke,Godwin,Marx,Millandahostofother"greats."ButwhatIsoondiscoveredwasthatmy
lackofunderstandingofhistory,i.e.theactualhistoricalcontextinwhichthesewritersconceived
andexecutedtheirtheoreticalwork,mademyunderstandingoftheirphilosophyonesided.Sure,
Iknewwhattheyhadtosayaboutliberty,ortheproletariat,ormonarchyorthefranchise.But
whatwasthehistoricalenvironmentthatgaverisetotheirideas?Ideasarenotakintoballoons
hangingfromtheceilingofClio'sden,waitingtoberetrievedbyaMarx,aMilloraPlato.Ideas
haveahistory.Theyundergoaprocessofdevelopment.Theychange,aremodified,are
distributedorareforgottenonlytoreappearyears,decadesorperhapsevencenturieslater.
OnceIrealizedthisfactitwasquitenaturalthatIturnmyattentiontohistoryitself.Andwhynot?I
couldstillstudyMarxorMillorPlato.OnlythistimeIcoulddoitfromthegroundup,sotospeak.
Thissortofapproachmakesmebetterabletovisualizehistoryinadifferentway.Itgivessome
senseof"pastness"tothepast.
ButwhydoIbother?What'sthepoint?Well,forme,it'saSocraticissue.Socrateswasaman
ofknowledgebutnotthatmuchknowledge.Asafreshmaninhighschoolyouprobablyknew
morethanSocrates.But,Socrateswasawiseman.Hehadwisdombecauseheknewonlyone
thing:thatheknewnothing.His"job,"sotospeak,wastoquestiontheAthenianyouth.Itwasnot
enoughtoknowsomething.Youhadtoknowwhyyouknewit.Andthis,ofcourse,broughthim
tothegreatestquestionofall:whatisknowledge?Whatcanweknow?Well,forSocrates,
again,hisknowledgeconsistedintherealizationthatheknewnothing.ThisSocraticironyleaves
usratherhighanddrybutIthinkthereisagreaterissueatstakehere.
ForSocrates,perhapsthehighestvirtuecanbesummedupinthephrase,"Knowthyself."In
otherwords,ofallthethingsinthephenomenalworld,thereisnotonesoimportantasyourself.
Toknowyourselfmeanstobeawareofwhatitisthatmakesyouwhoyouare.Andinthis
respect,theonethingwhichrevealsthisknowledgeishistory.Butpeopledonotlivealone,they
liveinsociety.Anditisinsocietythattheindividualcomesintocontactwithotherindividuals,all
ofwhomareonthesamequest,invaryingdegrees.So,forSocrates,knowledgeofselfdoes
nothingeuponreflectionorintrospection,butconversation,hencetheSocraticdialogue.
TheSocraticdialogueimpliesthatinstructorandstudentmeetonanequalfooting.Dialogue
meansconversationbetweentwoormorepeople.AndwhatisthepointofSocraticdialogue?
Improvement.Selfimprovementoftheinstructorandselfimprovementofthestudent.
SowhydoIstudyhistory?orwhydoIteachhistory?Well,formeit'saformofselfishness.I
wishtoimprovemyself.AndbyimprovingmyselfIalsoimproveothers.Thisclassical
pedagogicalmethodiscalledtheSocraticmethod.Ifyourinstructorisn'tatleastfamiliarwithit,
thenI'mafraidyourhistoricaleducationisgoingtosufferasaresult.
CanyoulearnhistorywithouttheSocraticdialogueasyourguide?Yes,itcanbedone.AllIam
tryingtosuggesthereisthatyourexperiencewithhistorywillbeamuchricheroneifyoukeepin
mindthathistorymeansselfknowledgeandasstudents,thatshouldbeoneofthemost
importantthingstoyou.