The importance of history - Essay Example

The Importance of History The importance of history “It has been said that he who controls the past controls the future” (Crabtree, 1993). The knowledge about the past is obtained from history alone. In other words, a person who likes to control the future should learn history well. History also helps a person to shape his present life. The experiences of people lived in the past can help the present generation immensely while they face difficult situations. Doctors often make use of the medical history of the patients while they analyze the current health conditions of the patients.

Sports teams often analyze the previous performance history of the opponents before preparing themselves for the coming matches. History can also help politicians in deciding about the relationship of a country with other countries. “When you understand history, you understand basic concepts and ideas. You will learn about cause and effect, relationships and human nature” (Chin, n. d). At present we have enough knowledge about what is electricity or what is energy. We are indebted to the efforts of ancient scientists for our current knowledge about these things.

Same way histories give us important lessons about the past which will help us to make conclusions while facing similar situations at present. History gives us the idea about the hierarchy of all the natural events happening in this world. For example, history helps us to understand at what time the monsoon comes or at what times the weather or season changes. In short, history plays an important role in shaping every aspect of present and future human life on earth. During the initial half of twentieth century, Mahatma Gandhi succeeded in getting freedom to his country India from the colonial rules of Britain through peaceful means.

The core philosophy of his freedom struggles was the theory of non violence which motivated other leaders like Nelson Mandela later in the history. Even current American president Barak Obama once admitted the influence of Mahatma Gandhi in his life. In other words, knowledge about the life and philosophies of past leaders can influence and motivate the current leaders. As a student of history, all the historical events are important to me. At present internet provides me all the necessary resources for learning history.

However, books and periodicals also help me immensely in knowing more about what was happened in the past. Medias like television, news paper and radio can also help me in knowing the past events. The knowledge about the past will definitely help me in knowing more about the nature of human life on earth. History is an ocean of knowledge; it helps us to learn more about the good things and bad things committed by the ancient generation. In short, history can correct me while the motivation for doing wrong thing affects me.

To conclude, the importance of history cannot be neglected when we consider the influence of past in our present and future life. Present and future activities can take lessons from the past which will make present and future human life much easier. References 1. Crabtree D. (1993). The importance of history. Retrieved from http://www.mckenziestudycenter.org/society/articles/history.html 2. Chin J.T. (n. d). What is the importance of history?. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Is-The-Importance-Of-History?&id=630047