History consists of various perspectives from which we as humans create our own interpretation. Biases and limitations are almost certain to be involved in an opinion. Standpoint proves to be critical in understanding how historical development influences an individual in their judgement by the standards of time. As time continues to pass, our standpoint can be easily altered or completely replaced. Key events in our past and present history can be perceived under a different lense, and in doing so changes the remembrance of that given event. In trying to answer an important question regarding whether key events in history should be judged by the standards of their time, you first need to understand subtopics including the comparison between …show more content…
Ethics plays a key role in the influence on any decision and/or judgement. An ethical standpoint can include that of any nature regardless of the situation. Standpoint theory and the incorporation of ethics generates imbalance throughout time. As stated previously, time changed everything and this includes the ethical mindset of one’s true self. Ethics are unique yet and resemble guidelines as part of your decision making process. The field of ethics can form two different ways of analyzing, whether it be ethical relativism or ethical absolutism. Ethical relativism argues that factors such as age, community, and the frame of time all affect the argument. Unlike Ethical relativism, ethical absolutism stated that ethics are unchanging over time and remain to be locked within our deep sense of perception. The problem with this idea of ethical absolutism is the general conception of a predetermined outline in terms of rules and guidelines that one must follow in order to create a“personal” judgement between right and wrong. Now in attempts to try and understand historical developments in the past, the influence of society deduces that one must use generalized guidelines that can alter in due time regardless of attempting to maintain absolutism. For example, the history of slavery is deemed under a negative connotation but during the times of the Roman empire, it was …show more content…
The task of judgement is not a “simple” decision rather one that is easily influenced, can incorporate numerous biases, and lastly be altered by time. History is another concept of the so called “Human book” as it details our exact past whether it be biased or not. It shows how time has affected our perspective on day to day activity. Being able to judge something and understanding the reasoning behind that judgement is important as it shows the standpoints and standards at the given time of the historical development. Factors such as the comparison between past and present history, the ethical standpoints, and lastly the effect of time on human nature all go hand in hand in generating the decision of judgement. In attempt to answer the question which states “Should key events in the historical development of areas of knowledge always be judged by the standards of their time?” the factors stated above help create a sense of understanding for first hand sources and the standpoint of the time period is superior to that of the future. The ethical standpoint of the time period changes overtime, and key events should always be analyzed through their respective historical lenses and perspectives but also can be viewed under a much modern perspective to create a balance of different ideas to which we can argue and develop judgement. The theory of time frame standards and
For example, owning a slave today is appalling, and considered a horrific crime against humanity. When Columbus started the Columbian trade and started to trade slaves he did not think it was an abnormal occurrence, because the leaders he started to trade with would capture other tribesmen to trade. If there had been a major problem the leaders would have refused to enslave their people to foreign men. Columbus should not be judged by today’s standards, due to the difference in opinion. While owning someone now is considered atrocious, it was normal then. How can something be judged if the standards for when the act was committed are different to the standards to which you are comparing it? It is not possible, to judged something by a different standard would be to punish a 2 year old the same way you would a 15 year old. It does not work and the outcome will not be
Throughout time, history has been recorded from the perspective of the victors. It is this bias within the archives that shape the views and motives of the groups involved. As a result of this influence the general way of thinking, and recollection of historical events has been altered to a certain degree to conform to the conqueror’s ideals. Society turns a blind eye to the horrors of the past, preferring to plead ignorance than to face the reality of the cruelty humans are capable of. There are parts in history that conversely cannot be ignored, such as the genocide in Rwanda, 9-11, Terror in Paris and the most historical, the holocaust in World War II, where the true extent of human vindictiveness came to light. In spite
In the area of knowledge of history, certain crucial questions are inevitable, as to what constitutes knowledge: How do we know our past? Who records them, and what are we recording? The last question is the most important one as it is in the hands of the historian to ascertain what should go down in history and how it should be recorded. Therefore, he/she has the power to create a perspective for the people who will subscribe to this historical knowledge. This bring us to the next important question - How far does opinion impact on the historians methodology, and the extent to which the ‘context’ of the historian leads to new historical interpretations? To understand this better, let us take an example. Context: One of the greatest historical
This paper deals with ways history can be interpreted and influences different interpretations have on society and individuals. This is explored through
Recorded history is nothing but the belief or bias of the man who wrote it. Often when discussing history, people us the popular phrase, “the winner writes the history books” or something along the lines. But nevertheless, the phrase does hold true. All history that is written is biased, but it is up to the reader to find the truth in within history. No matter what history is written, there will always be a different perspective, a different society, and a different perception of what is truly going on. History does not tell us the absolute truth, but it gives us a morphed version of the truth that we, as readers, must interpret to find the truth.
No matter how far we try to remove ourselves from our biases, it is impossible, because history forces us to develop bias. We are always attempting to compare an event with another, or a person with another, and these comparisons often result in the most interesting and thoughtful discussions. I don’t think the field of history would exist without comparisons. We need to look at ideas, people, and events in context in order to truly understand their meaning, and that requires us to compare.
Many forces shaped the America that we know today. Some events in our country’s history have had more impact than others. Some of the most significant events in shaping America from pre-history to the dawn of the American Revolution include the invention of the Clovis point, the Black Death, and the defeat of the Spanish Armada. In this paper I will analyze the effect of each of these events and the impact they made on the modern day.
Ethical systems are complex and difficult to determine what one best describes a person’s individual belief systems. After review of the textbook, I believe that I best subscribe to the ethical system of graded absolutism. This posting will provide a brief defense of my personal ethical systems beliefs as well relevant examples to support it. Hicks and Hicks (2014) describe graded absolutism as, “In this ethical system, one is obligated to follow a higher moral law. If there are two laws that conflict with each other morally, the one that is higher should be chosen.” (p. 111). This view accepts that as humans we are forced to make decisions that might require compromise within our own moral systems as part of decision-making. Choosing
Ethics is the moral criteria that we as human beings have. They are the rules of the game that are supposed to guide us through our decision making in life and how to behave to one another as part of a society. However, there are different perspectives on how this criteria should be used, and when and whom they apply to. I will focus on the three most influential moral theories: virtue ethics, deontology, and utilitarianism. Although there are many great names of philosophers that fall in those theories, I will be discussing Aristotle, Kant, and Mill’s perspective, respectively.
There are many events that occurred that became the foundation of present day America. The five most important historical events that occurred during American History were: the Renaissance; the European Reformation; the life of George Washington; concept of Manifest Destiny; and racism. These events each had a significant impact that formed the concepts that are used throughout America today; and, if they never happened or happened differently society would have been greatly affected.
How would you feel if all the events that have shaped our society today and that have caused so much pain were to get washed over the course of the years? In Oklahoma they are trying to pass a bill that will banish all the negative things from history from high schools history classroom. “We have to learn from our mistakes in order to move forward. Sweeping them aside in favor 0f preaching ‘exceptional ism’ in the classroom isn't just ignorant -- it’s dangerous instead of rewriting history we should learn from it. and write a better future.”
A discussion of moral theories must begin with a discussion of the two extremes of ethical thinking, absolutism and relativism. Moral Absolutism is the belief that there are absolute standards where moral questions are judged and can be deemed right or wrong, regardless of the context. Steadfast laws of the universe, God, nature itself are the forces that deem an action right or wrong. A person’s actions rather than morals and motivations are important in an Absolutism proposition. Moral Relativism states, that the moral propositions are based on Ethical relativism is the theory that holds that morality is relative to the norms of one's culture. That is, whether an action is right or wrong depends on the
World History in Context, written by David Christian (2003), questions the context of world history as well as the complexity of human history and the societies with which they live. In Christian’s article he argues that looking at world history in its global context, rather than one specific moment in history, is the way it is intended to be interpreted and allows historians to recognize reoccurring patterns and themes. World history is meant to be an unbiased account of only one specific species, humans (Christian 2003, 437-438). Historians often struggle with this challenging topic and tend to produce works extremely biased, usually towards stable ‘western civilizations’ and
There are a variety of different ethical systems that have developed of the course of millennia. However, even though the subject has been covered so thoroughly, it is still heavily debated. The varieties of ethical systems that are in existence look at various ethical problems from different perspectives and can be applied differently in different circumstances. Because of the subjective aspects to applying ethics, they can be as much an art as they are a science. Ethics are something that must be practiced and really cannot be perfected. In this way, studying ethics is a continual process that does not really stop. This paper will argue that ethics are the most important subject that an individual can pursue.
Our conclusions on any occasion are direct consequences of any developed concept in our minds. We see the world as we want to see it through our personal perceptions. When we are categorizing anything as desirable or otherwise, we judge using the concepts that we hold to us. Although different concepts may shape different conclusions, they are all influenced by beliefs and experiences. So, to what extent do our beliefs modify the conclusions that we may reach? The knowledge obtained through out someone’s life through their experiences, or belief system direct decision making almost completely. In my essay I will explore how Ethics and Human sciences correlate with this topic. I will also implement and tie in the connections of Reason and link these concepts with belief and experiences.