So much is new and complex today that looking back for an understanding of the past provides little guidance for living in the present.
I do not agree to the assertion that history cannot help us in dealing with modern life. It is true that the society in which we are living is more complex than before, and exactly for this we require to learn from the past to avoid mistakes, to seek for inspirations and to discover the true value of our species.
To begin with, history tells us the aftermaths of certain conducts and how to make it evitable. In the thousands of years of civilization human being suffered a lot of cataclysms, poverty and starving. We never stops making mistakes, but what we should do to avoid them as many as possible. Even deer learned the experiences from their fathers how to escape from tigers, mankind, an intellectual animal learn these experiences by studying history. For example, after the economic crisis in the 1930s` all the government made some alterations in managing market and currency, and from the successful examples we learned how to deal with the same kind of issue. Although we should not do exactly the same as the predecessors did in the past for the current problem might not be the copy of that in the history, this do not deny the importance of studying history in figuring out the solution, because the current issue and the past shares their essence. Ignoring the history we would be a little child who never grows up. And that is the difference between a child and an adult.
Secondly, history gives us inspirations in all the areas of life. The French philosopher Pascal said that man is a reed, but the thinking one. We make new discoveries, however, only by knowing the contemporary issues we can work out nothing. From history we not only learn the achievements of ancestors, but also the experience they left us. For instance, Isaac Newton made his theories on the basis of Kepler`s, and Kepler`s could made this achievement only after Copernicus`s sun-centre theory was prevailed. Blazers find the way to destination, and followers should walk through the way to the destination. Without studying history, we would always stay in the situation of seeking, but never arrivals.
Thirdly, reviewing the past and looking forward the future can help us to find the true value and meaning of mankind. Although each has his own answer, we all conclude it by examining the history. People are perplexed by this complex hustle and rustle world. How should we find the true value of our species? In order to answer this question, we should study history to learn the value and ideals of the people in the past. People in the ancient time worshiped the nature and even was afraid of the punishments of the nature. Now the knowledge of people has far exceed this level and understand the biology and physics, but the knowledge gives us courage to change the nature and , at last we are punished by the nature. But should we learn from history and re-evaluate the behavior of us. The true value of mankind is not to illustrate the power of changing the nature, but to live in the harmony with nature. Without history how should we figure this out.
In sum, in no circumstances can I accept the claim that history is helpless. Without studying history we would commit the mistakes again and again, without studying history we would not forward all the enterprises, without studying history we would not understand the true value of mankind. History gives us a lot of guidance in the complex society, and the history proves that the successful person is always the one who learn from the history.