History (cont.)

History can be a hagiography, a morality tale, and a cautionary tale, all to some extent, because history normally has a purpose for being told. If history is being taught in school, it is not only to educate children on facts of the past, but also to present to them morals and cautions which can be learnt from our history.

For example, there are many elements omitted by Japan in their history textbooks, including facts about their conflict with China and the invasion of Manchuria. Although it seems here that the historian is deliberately twisting the truth, it is not necessarily false, and it is history written for young Japanese students. The bias comes not only from the historian, but also from the audience, who supply the demand for history that has a ulterior motive.

Rwandan Genocide and the Truth reconciliation commission

The talk on the Rwandan genocide raised questions on what is evil. Philip Zimbardo, the professor who conducted the Stanford prison experiment in 1971, defined evil as someone who abuses power by intentionally hurting another person. He also created a thesis, The Lucifer Effect, which looks at what brings out the evil in ‘good’ people. Therefore, when looking at history and judging why certain decisions were made, we need to look at the power dynamics of the time. For example, being the one who feed the information to the public gives one power. That person has the power of language, and can manipulate the thoughts of people in different ways.

Conflict is mostly caused by everyone thinking they are the victims to a problem. Nonetheless, an apology doesn't necessarily solve the problem, as it can be hollow. In the case of USA's apologies to its indigenous communities, the apologies do not mean a lot. However, in the case of Japan and China's ongoing rivalry, neither are willing to admit any responsibility and apologize. I think conflict is almost unavoidable, but as long as the rivalry is relatively peaceful, then it is just like rivalry between sport teams, except political. As long as the living standards of the people are relatively good, violence or major events do not occur. 

AOK- History

-What shapes the views of a historian? (PERCEPTION) 
-Do historians look at facts emotionally?( EMOTION)
-Do historians piece together the past through reason? (REASON)
-Is language the most effective weapon of the historian? (LANGUAGE)

Evidence which recreates history for us, are often buried in a certain chronology and has been treated in a certain manner which also provides information about the piece of evidence. For example, by looking into our garbage, we can discover clues to the past. However, history is a process where we interpret the evidence, and present it in a certain way. It is a science and an art, because it includes the process of  searching evidence that supports a certain hypothesis, and is a skill which is creative, interpretive, and is part of the art of argument.

The factors that shape the views of the historian are important, because  people have different backgrounds, and the differences in their background causes different interpretations . Bias is subjective, because  we cannot judge objectively if we are being lenient towards one argument.

Although the opinions of a historian should not be affected by irrational emotions, historians do see facts emotionally. In fact, if we were presented with just the facts of an event, we may not be able to understand its importance: it is when historians interpret the facts for us, and recount the event with emotion that history seems to have a greater meaning. “Facts do not speak for themselves”- the facts alone do not present the past, but it is the historians, who are emotional beings, who present the past.

History, being a science, should be pieced together through reason. A good historian will use empathy as a tool to understand the motivations for decisions made in the past, analyze its expedience, and be able to examine the personalities of the decision makers, as well as their circumstances and other extraneous factors. It seems unlikely that all the history presented to us has gone through this thorough process with objectivity. It is also logical to say that the past may be pieced together to someone’s advantage, including the historians. This makes the history presented still logical, but maybe not as truthful or objective as people may perceive it to be.

Language is the medium with which a historian presents his/her interpretation. The significance of the language used is that it can evoke emotion or even shape a person’s perception. It is also important as a means to find out the truth, because it is when people and opinions debate upon facts, we are able to approach the truth. 

How much control do you have over your own future?

Can people with different opinions be right?

What can a personal story tell us about the big issues?

In our discussion, wealth was considered an important factor in how much control we have over our future. The more money we have, the more opportunities we can create and the more hope we can buy. However, the majority of us would choose good health and spirit over infinite wealth.

I think that what makes us happy and having control over the future are separate. A lot of people want a stable, fairly simple future: a family, a house, maybe a car etc. Having a more secure grasp of our future would help us achieve this, but often the ultimate aim is to be secure and happy. 

The control we actually have over our own future is small. So many factors influence our future: politics, the economy, the weather, accidents, the people we meet etc. We often have a decent amount of choice in our actions and how we think, but sometimes even this is restricted in the bigger picture. When we meet someone from a different culture, the person is often strongly influenced by their surroundings and culture. It is a bit like the frog in the well: we can't actually have a perception without society's filters, so even in a 'free democratic' state, our decisions and future are guided by our influences and circumstances. It is not like we can't change our future, but I think a lot of luck is involved in destiny.