What shapes historical development - Essay Example

What shapes historical development? Through the ages, human beings and their constant instinctfor growth have altogether served as a leading component in molding the history of mankind. While men portray that is of primary significance to historical development inclusive of what they do or of what their endeavors consist of in the process, the corresponding changes thereof function in terms of enhancing further what has evolved, historically, in several aspects. To analyze, since the beginning of time, the nature of man has been disposed to the interest of discoveries which has apparently guided them to establish civilizations and lay foundations for knowledge of various fields. Hence, as humans search for a sense of identity, of humanity, or of the truth in what they are in relation to others of their kind and the environment, in general, they inevitably do tasks or perform activities that create unseen force essential to evolution from one state of nature to the next. The capacity and attitude for quest occurs to be the key which enables men to adapt, make changes, and explore possibilities in order to have a meaningful existence. As a rational being, man thinks and such intrinsic ability to form logical thoughts or ideas is crucial to man’s aim of satisfying a bulk of curiosities and needs, whether concrete or abstract in form. In this manner, thus, men along with their searching nature, skills, vision, deeds, and ways of thinking chiefly shape the course of historical development. Because humans influence each other in a vast number of ways, time after time, early civilizations develop into a more complex system of relations where they have gradually discovered efficient means and tools of sustaining life and addressing different challenges of living. Eventually, there emerged the intertwined concept of ‘progress’ and ‘success’ as men come to understand more deeply the value of human intelligence, of reason, and of persevering act necessary to achieve goals in the study of science, religion, philosophy, arts, music, and literature. The increasing knowledge on these subject areas allows formation of cultures and societies that are distinct from each other and such distinction affects historical context. Moreover, it is through knowledge that men examine themselves as sensible individuals and learn of power and conquest for which economy and politics matter in further structuring the norms of ethics and moral law within a society. When nations march for war against one another, this event would undoubtedly mark a point of development as history exhibits how ideals differ depending on the political and economic position of a country involved compared to the rest. Consequently, the similarities and dissimilarities in beliefs or views of men identify what a nation, culture, or average community is made of and illustrate that differences among human perspectives herein can be vital player in determining specific factors by which historical development proceeds in any part of the world. It turns out that, for as long as men can manage to acquire and apply knowledge, as well as become socio-politically aware, and engage in scientific, literary, or philosophical efforts for the sake of attaining power and progress, then historical development continues to be modified through interactions and the events to which they yield. Does this historical development have a pattern? If so, what is this pattern? Yes. Historical development seems to be patterned after a process in which a civilization or a nation rises in power as an empire then declines or falls weak after sometime due to conflicts originating either from the side of the ruler or that of the subjects or people whose economic or cultural issues have not been settled or dealt with in proper terms. A historically critical person may observe a cycle where the state of economy varies directly as the state of politics so that the principal workers of this system are normally headed to the motivation of maintaining balance, pondering on an approach to keep its equilibrium from any sort of disturbance. Otherwise, history repeats itself when people raise protest against a type of government which they realize to be ineffectual in public service that is supposed to operate on their advantage. A recurring pattern of traditional politics happens each time people vote and have the officials of choice fill in posts yet when something goes wrong with leadership overall or management of resources, for instance, the elected ones are held accountable for the misdeed until proven innocent either by insufficient evidence or by a propaganda that often lures people to focus on the surface of things or aspects that can render a political image to be attractive or enduring, at least, rather than repulsive. Repetitively do figures of science, politics, and religion fail and succeed alternately though this situation makes mere analogous coincidence with the scenario in which people may be claimed to possess a resonating character between periods of history since they are typically prone to becoming victims of naivety and misconception under repeated cases of poor economy and ignorance by lack of formal education which have not found complete resolution even as historical development has transitioned from an old to a modern era with a couple of notable changes. On this ground, man too ceases not on improving oneself in pursuit of an ideal quality of life, then and now. Is your conception of historical development deterministic (that is, is your view of historical development relatively predictable) or not? I suppose it is. The notion I have of historical development is quite deterministic in the sense that I am confident about what the future holds given the present circumstances. Based on the recognizable pattern in historical development, similar causes commonly bear similar outcomes so that we may reasonably argue, for one, that continued mass production of electronic device may bring about severe unfavourable consequences of global warming via generation and release of heat in tremendous amounts to the atmosphere since technological progress and advancements could go out of hand just as how most truths in natural disasters and information technology were foreseen in the past on the basis of the existing concerns back then. This exemplifies why historical development can be relatively predictable from my view of what has relevantly transpired prior. What implications does your view of historical development have on human freedom and agency (i.e., one’s ability to shape his or her history)? I think my perception of historical development and what shapes it would significantly contribute to my view of personal history for that could imply a more profound understanding of the meaning of freedom with reference to the way I see my fellow countrymen currently treat the Constitution and how I respond to what the law and society asks of me as a citizen. Basically, I know that the Constitution pertains to the collective fundamental principles which the people of my country ought to abide by as it sets the legal standards that define the kind of morals and structure of democracy particular to us. However, I also know that this Constitution would not have earned high regard had the forefathers retreated from all the long struggles of establishing a better system of government so that my view of historical development here bears implication that I could never take my respect for law and democracy for granted. Why is it important to know your history? Is it possible to know the past accurately—and is this a crucial factor in evaluating the importance of knowing one’s history? What should be the purposes of studying and teaching history? It is of ample importance for us to be able to comprehend our history at depth because history is our main link from the past and this link is responsible for helping us understand our identity as a nation. By knowing history with heart, one gains insight on what could be done for a nation under a long-term crisis as history provides details of thoughts and actions which had been implemented and proven effective on a relatively similar incident in the past. Despite the possibility of knowing the past with greater degree of accuracy, this does not necessarily account for being a crucial factor in evaluating the importance of obtaining knowledge of one’s origins. No matter how accurate the available knowledge is on history, it would not work to pay attention on its importance if the subject is less sincerely taught or conveyed. In facilitating studies on history, an instructor must consider that the major purpose of teaching the course is to allow students to learn about the periods that depict formation of language and the turning points where language became a powerful device in commerce, trade, and communication of one’s abilities to settle disputes in peaceful terms. Through history, every student must possess comprehension of times in which rich cultures flourished as expressions of art and ethnicity for this would direct them to understand why music and literature are shaped according to the characteristic traits of a culture. I believe that when history is thoroughly signified, students would be more inclined to participate on affairs that highly concern their communities. Read More