issue103 [0806G-奋斗小组]第33次作业

breathUID: 2417355

作业三十三：
Issue103"The study of history has value only to the extent that it is relevant to our daily lives."

In the issue, the claim that studying history is valuable only when it is relevant to our daily lives, while appealing in some respects, is an unpersuasive statement. In my viewpoint, the study of history has value not only relevant to our daily lives but also essential in other matters such as   
enhancing our moral understanding and Predicting the Future.

Firstly, studying history plays an important role in our daily lives. To witness the value, one need look no further than that it is essential for good citizenship. History that lays the foundation for genuine citizenship returns, in one sense, to the essential uses of the study of the past. History provides data about the emergence of national institutions, problems, and values—it's the only significant storehouse of such data available. It offers evidence also about how nations have interacted with other societies, providing international and comparative perspectives essential for responsible citizenship. Further, studying history helps us understand how recent, current, and prospective changes that affect the lives of citizens are emerging or may emerge and what causes are involved.

Secondly, a study of history contributes to our moral understanding. History provides a terrain for moral contemplation. Studying the stories of individuals and situations in the past allows a student of history to test his or her own moral sense, to hone it against some of the real complexities individuals have faced in difficult settings. People who have weathered adversity not just in some work of fiction, but in real, historical circumstances can provide inspiration. "History teaching by example" is one phrase that describes this use of a study of the past—a study not only of certifiable heroes, the great men and women of history who successfully worked through moral dilemmas, but also of more ordinary people who provide lessons in courage, diligence, or constructive protest.

Last, a study of history will predict the future. To study history is to look at a road map of human behavior that led us to where we are today in the world, which can help us figure out what the next step is. In The Prince, 16th-century Italian philosopher Machiavelli wrote, “Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past for human events ever resemble those of preceding times.” History, in other words, can tell us much about the future. The phrase “the history of the future” sounds like an oxymoron, but there is much to learn from looking at past visions of the shape of things to come—not to be amused or to feel superior, but rather to understand the innately human impulse to imagine and dream about tomorrow. As artifacts of culture and belief, however, they are guideposts to a better understanding of our own future.

To sum up, studying history is essential in our daily lives; what is more, it is vital for moral understanding and predicting the future. There for, many people become enthralled with the examination of the past and our society requires and encourages the study of history as a major subject in the schools.