issue 103 by wdi ken4huo

ken4huoUID: 2416482

103."The study of history has value only to the extent that it is relevant to our daily lives."

命题：研究历史的价值与我们的日常生活 研究历史的确对我们的日常生活十分有意义。

在研究历史的过程中，人们总是把自己放在当时的情境考虑问题，这样有助于从心里从思想上彻底影响一个人。历史可以激励奋斗。历史可以在思想上启发人。历史可以陶冶人的修养。历史可以帮助我们避免错误。 然而我们的日常生活无非是工作、学习、娱乐、休息。

历史研究的意义许多情况下超出了我们的日常生活的范围，科研领域的许多文献研究正是如此。研究艾滋病史可能不能给今天的艾滋病患者带来福音，更不用提对大多数没有患aids的普通人群，但是它是今后艾滋病防止工作的基础；通过研究艾滋病的来源，可以防止别的此类病毒通过相同的途径传入人类社会。研究历史上对各种自然灾害，例如洪水、地震和海啸，的记录不能救助地受灾的人，但是它可以对灾害频发地带及时间做出统计，让该地区人做好预防灾害的各种措施。日本历史上一直是地震多发国，但正是对地震记录的认真研究促使政府制定了一系列提高地震多发区域居民防震的高度警惕性的政策，使得地震灾害中居民损失大幅减小。这些研究对于个人在当前形势下的价值是有限的，但对于区域内甚至整体人类的利益关系密切。

在社会经济政治等其他方面，也是如此。研究历次金融危机产生原因可能不能给今天金融危机中失业的人带来工作机会，但是它是今后国家经济政策制定的警钟。研究战争及冲突的历史，可能不会给当今在中东饱受冲突及袭击煎熬的人带来和平，但是分析战争及冲突发生的原因可以对战争冲突的走向做出预测并及时控制，以及寻求解决其起因的和平手段。联合国在处理中东问题上一定会考虑到历史学家们对中东战争史所作的解释。


We people live in the present. What we concern about is the issue happened today or the plan for tomorrow. The history however is all about the past. So, what the studying of history brings to the present world? Some people assert that those researches on history which have little relevance to our daily life have no value. Yet, this hasty assertion is too narrow and shallow.

Admittedly, history study really does help people’s daily life a lot. When people study history, they step into the past circumstances easily, and consider problems in that specific condition. Consequently, studying of history might influence his or her mind and psychology completely. When people study biography of great man or woman in the history, they might be inspired by his or her success experience. For example, Edison’s more than 1000 experiments on the electric light’s filament tell true meaning of “failure is the mother of success”. From studying of philosophy history, people might be enlightened by philosophers’ great idea. For instance, influenced by Hegel’s “whatever is, is right”, people might gain a complete new perspective when they face confusion in daily life. In addition, research on history of art and literature plays a significant role in cultivation of people’s aesthetic and. As the greatest male sculpture, Michelangelo’s sculpture David shows everyone who is appreciating it what the true mean of health and enthusiasm is. When people staring at Vincent van Gogh’s painting Sunflowers, they must be impressed by its comparison of bright colors, be enlightened by the passion outpouring from the painting.

People’s daily life however includes no more than four aspects: work, study, entertainment and rest. In fact, many of researches on history serve our society from a more broad perspective. Take research on scientific literatures as an example. Researches on the history of AIDS pathogen might not help today’s patients who are suffering from AIDS, not mention to general people who have not infected by it. Yet, these researches can be the foundation to build upon to create cure plan against AIDS; as well, by finding where such pathogen come from, government can avoid other pathogens come to human beings’ society in that way. Researches on the history of natural catastrophe which include where and when it happened cannot help those who are suffering from the earthquake, and flood. But they can be used as reference for government to constitute emergency measures, which can increase residents’ who live in those dangerous regions opportunity to survive in such catastrophe come. Thus, in domain of science, research of history has more value beyond daily life.

Further examples of the value of study of history beyond daily life also exist in many other aspects such as social, economic and political problems. Looking back to financial crisis during the past 100 years cannot offer any job slot to those unemployed people during today’s crisis. Yet it can help the government to handle the financial problems; meanwhile the past crisis is the best alarm to today’s government. Studying on the history of wars and region conflicts, might not be helpful for those who are suffering the threatening of war in the Middle East today. However, it does mean a lot to understanding the causes of the wars, predicting and controlling the direction of the wars and seeking for peaceful solutions to those causes. Apparently, research of history has much value for making social institution and economic policy.

To sum up, research on history not only has value on people’s daily life, but also on the area beyond daily life.