Why History Matters

And why we should care about learning it.

For some people, history is very passé. Who cares about what happened a long time ago? But as historian William Faulkner once wisely observed,

“The past is not dead. It’s not even past.”

Here are five reasons why history matters:

1. History Repeats Itself

It may be cliché, but it is true. History does repeat itself. Many of the same questions which aroused the minds of Antiquity still befuddle and confuse us today. For example, what is justice? That is the chief subject of Plato’s Republic, written as early as the 4th century BC. One could go even further. Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, considered some of the earliest works in the entire Western tradition, date back to the mid-8th century BC. The great Greek poet asked many eternal questions that still apply today. He pondered the nature of the gods, and the relationship between fate and free will. He attempted to explain physical phenomena through the intricate labyrinth we now call Greek mythology. All of this, he did with a style and elegance that have entertained and inspired nearly 3,000 years of Western culture.

The word history comes from the Greek historia, meaning “inquiry.” Ultimately, the goal of the historian is to explain the causes of human events. Some of the West’s earliest historians were Herodotus, author of Histories, which documents in detail Greece’s mighty struggle for independence against the fearsome Persian Empire. Herodotus is the father of what we now call “scientific history.” This means that, rather than relying on mythological explanations, the ancient Greek writer grounded his history in empirical observation. In a similar vein, Thucydides, author of The History of the Peloponnesian War, documented the cataclysmic conflict between Athens and Sparta. Thucydides’ pioneering insights into the nature of war, conflict, and geopolitics continues to inspire policy-makers to this very day. Those insights are timeless, eternal, rooted in a fixed human nature. This fundamental assumption is the basis of all historical scholarship, both ancient and modern.

2. History Gives You Perspective

History is unique, because it provides special insights into the here-and-now. “If you want to divine the future,” Confucius once wrote in his famous Analects, “study the past.” Without a liberal arts education, it becomes too easy to be satisfied with superficial, shallow interpretations of contemporary events. History provides that necessary backbone, that context, which makes the modern world intelligible. While it is true that knowledge accumulates over time—the past has many flaws, indeed—there can be no modernity without the solid foundations provided by Antiquity.

3. History is Fun

Sometimes, knowledge is valuable for its own sake. It is a truly beautiful and aesthetic experience to connect with ancient people, who shared our joys and sorrows during their time on this Earth. These are real people. History is the study of the tangible, the real, the concrete. While it can be hard to disentangle mythology from real history, history is nonetheless the study of flesh-and-blood people. They had dreams, like you. They had parents, family, kids—just like you. They had goals and visions and aspirations, like you. They felt every passion you’ve ever felt; they’ve already imagined your every thought. In many cases, historical figures understand your own thoughts better than you do. To study history, with such gentle astuteness and careful attention, is part of what makes us human.

At the same time, there is something truly magical and otherworldly about history. It takes you to different times and places. It transports you from the dunes of Arabia to the chilly ices-capes of Seoul, from the blood-stained battlefields of Gettysburg to the sandy beaches of Normandy. History takes you anywhere you want to go. More than any other discipline, it stimulates your imagination. It restores your child-like sense of wonder and mystery. History is a truly numinous discipline.

4. History is Funny

History is not just fun; it is downright hilarious. Take the following example from Antiquity: Pompey’s conquest of Jerusalem. After vanquishing his primitive Jewish foes, the glamorous, wealthy Roman walked triumphantly into the Temple of the Holy City. Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw next. Stunned, the flabbergasted Pompey is simply unable to comprehend what he sees. What does he see? Nothing. Inside the Temple, the Jews literally hold nothing. There’s no idol or statue of any deities. Unlike the pagan Romans, the Jews worship an invisible god. Pompey could not wrap his hand around the idea that the Jews would worship a god they could not even see. That was laughably ridiculous to him.

History is littered with these kinds of playful anecdotes. Many times, those seemingly insignificant stories (which are often of dubious historicity) yield incredible insights into the human condition. In fact, they even teach us about the nature of reality, of contingency, and of fate. There are so many instances in history that are marvelously accidental. The contingency of history is clear to anyone who studies it. Imagine a random Confederate soldier who left behind Lee’s plans. That’s partly how the Union won the American Civil War. What if Hitler won WWII? This nightmarish situation might have happened, without the Miracle of Dunkirk. What if the Western Allies marched on Berlin before the Soviets did? What is the US never dropped the atomic bombs on Japan?

So much of history depends on nothing more than chance. There is something strangely humorous about that.

5. History Helps You Connect With Others

History, ultimately, is a discipline about human connection. It’s about connecting with one’s inner self. With other people, who share your passion and fascination with the past. With your culture and society, whose sacred bonds are cemented by common memories and shared experiences. History is the one field that connects all time periods: past, present, and future. Albert Einstein once remarked that, in his view, the “Kingdom of God” was a collection of exceptional individuals, strewn throughout the vast plains of human history, who are united across space and time by their excellence. History is this glue, this connective tissue, which pieces together that amazing and awe-inspiring story we call humanity.

History is the queen of the humanities, because it gives us our humanity. It fosters that fundamental curiosity, that “lust of the mind” as Thomas Hobbes once called it, which is the source of all true knowledge and understanding.