What did history teach us?

[Kropotkin]

For a while a specific point in the ever ongoing debate/spamfest over the Iraq-issue has grown on me. A current thread made me start this one but as I just said, it has been on my mind for a while. I'd like to point out that it's not my intention to take a definite stand on the issue but to bring up a interesting detail. I'm not a big fan of analysing discourses and so forth but when it comes to details I do think it says something.

Some posters and people in general that are more or less pro-war refers to history to make a point. What I'm talking about is of cource (as most of you should have guessed by now) the idea and history of the appeasement-policy. Debaters point to what can be learned from the disaster in München in 1938.

However, my point is, that there might be a serious flaw with a selective way of learning from history. After all, history has and means a lot of things and can also be intepreted in a lot of ways. Is this appeasment-leason really a valid point? What has the history of imperialism and 'the white mans burden' to teach us?

My position is that one should be really careful to think that there's some easy clear-cut leasons from history. History never repeats itself but as a farce.

Discuss!

[JohnT]

No!

[Kropotkin]

Oh sod off!

[JohnT]

No!

[Kropotkin]

I should have guessed that this was a bit to far from random but predictable spam for the OT nowadays. I got orders from the 'big chief' (no my gf, not Bush!) so I'll have to leave this thread to its not so fortunate faith.

[MosesPresley]

History is not an intellectual cudgel. Selectively picking out isolated incidents from the past to support your argument or point is dishonest at best.

Is this the line of thinking that you are aiming for?

[Lefty Scaevola]

Hitory teaches us:
Kill your enemies
Help your friends
Do not screw around with thoses inbetween

[Drake Tungsten]

Hitory teaches us:
Kill your enemies
Help your friends
Do not screw around with thoses inbetween

Lefty speaks the truth.

I wish all of our EUnuch allies could grasp this simple lesson...

[Ozz]

He who desires peace should prepare for war.

Some ancient roman guy.

[Ozz]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten [q]
I wish all of our EUnuch allies could grasp this simple lesson...

You don't have any allies anymore, eunuch or otherwise.

[Myrddin]

No permanent friends, just permanent interests;

some Victorian chap

[uh Clem]

The only thing we learn from history is that no one learns anything from history. Hegel, I think. One of them guys.

[Sava]

What did history teach us?

Don't elect a Bush president.

We learned, but it didn't matter.

[Japher]

The one thing I have learned from history is that boring eras make for boring movies.

[VetLegion]

There are many important lessons in history.


One is that people have always been the same.



Other conclusions are impossible to make with certainty.

From that there are good lessons for debating (any subject):

One, make as little historical analogies and references in a debate as you can. They are always easily refuted.

Two, exploit your oponent if he makes a lot of those.

Three, us humans have a weakness in debates, we always respond to an analogy, and historical analogy especially. So you can use them to sidetrack (threadjack) a line of conversation that was getting inconvenient.


I'm feeling smart today, can't be helped