Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Pyrrho · 04-28-2003, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Starboy
Zonules, the concern for history is a hoot. Mankind builds over and destroys or abandons cities all the time. How is this any different? Life goes on. People who stop current history to preserve past history are forgetting that current events will become future history. History is history and in this case the dam doesn't diminish it one bit. After all, sometime in the dim future which site will be more historically important, just another ancient Chinese city or the great dam?

Starboy

There is this important difference between things that are old and things that are new. What is old can teach us about our past. What is new cannot teach us the same things. True, in the future, the things we make today will then be old, and will teach those in the future about their past. But they do not teach us about our past. So your claim that there is no difference between what is old and what is new as far as history is concerned is simply false, and your tautology, "history is history" is just a smokescreen to gloss over the difference.

Starboy · 04-28-2003, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Pyrrho
There is this important difference between things that are old and things that are new. What is old can teach us about our past. What is new cannot teach us the same things. True, in the future, the things we make today will then be old, and will teach those in the future about their past. But they do not teach us about our past. So your claim that there is no difference between what is old and what is new as far as history is concerned is simply false, and your tautology, "history is history" is just a smokescreen to gloss over the difference.

If the cities being covered over in question were the only link to the past you would have a point, but they are not. Also covering these cities in water may do more to preserve them in the future than any conservation measure considered prudent today. Look, if the sites were a one of a kind I don't think we would be having this discussion. I don't think anyone would wish to destroy them or make them unavailable to mankind.

Starboy

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