tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904219782540965444.post8460742731299823862..comments2024-03-14T04:06:54.124-04:00Comments on GENKAKU-AGAIN (adam fisher): the limits of well-remembered historygenkakuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12135705172119950326noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904219782540965444.post-60280491404377476212016-04-17T20:51:53.035-04:002016-04-17T20:51:53.035-04:00Points well-taken, Andrew. I am not advocating som...Points well-taken, Andrew. I am not advocating some laissez-faire ignorance. What I am interested in is the actual impact of even the best-remembered history. Perhaps Napoleon put his finger on it when he said, "If you had seen one day of war, you would pray to God that you would never see another." Interesting that as practical (we can argue that later) a man as Napoleon could do no better than conjure a god by way of assuring the sanity others might claim based on the historical record. The blood and screams fill the senses of those who have been to war and might retell it with great passion and accuracy, but the best anyone can do is pray to God.genkakuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12135705172119950326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904219782540965444.post-78990083275400280232016-04-17T20:29:14.157-04:002016-04-17T20:29:14.157-04:00I think you've come to Santayana's excelle...I think you've come to Santayana's excellent point from a different vector: If one proceeds without consulting historical records, one is bound to make mistakes similar to those made in the past. <br /><br />On the other hand, the post may have missed something of Santayana's meaning.<br /><br />While he may have said "remember," I venture to say he meant something much more.<br /><br />For millennia there have been those who have recorded events, sometimes as objectively as possible, sometimes with an agenda. Further, events are recorded sometimes with, and sometimes without analysis.<br /><br />I doubt anyone would disagree with this. So depending on the records, there is more or less information for those in the present and future to consider.<br /><br />Now, onto the audience, the "consider-ers", sometimes, the records are diligently studied by men and women of good conscience who have no intent of harming others, and sometimes recorded history is studied by those willing to actly brutally to achieve certain goals.<br /><br />So now circa 2016 we have an additional factor: one that is imperative: in the past we'd just needed a good sized library and well indexed cataloging system, in modern terms we need a most excellent historical search engine, and some way to add history into the database. In addition, for the youth and the non-academic, we need a Wikipedia of The History of Humanity.<br /><br />Heeding Santayana's about consulting history simply makes good sense. Let's remember that and support efforts to make history more much accessible.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15019699948646507116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904219782540965444.post-53644718478797177912016-04-17T10:23:15.770-04:002016-04-17T10:23:15.770-04:00Sit as i sat and see for yourself was the exhortat...Sit as i sat and see for yourself was the exhortation of ol'buddha man. If you don't repeat history and see for yourself what happens, how will you learn? I suppose a person can learn, but a species can only do what it does, perhaps evolve, or more likely be supplanted by another species. olcharliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00309255390011851502noreply@blogger.com