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A great thing that you will learn from reading the ancient classics is that people such as the Greeks and Romans were much closer to our modern ideals of scienc

A great thing that you will learn from reading the ancient classics is that people such as the Greeks and Romans were much closer to our modern ideals of science and society than people of even 500 years ago, despite living in a completely different world. I think the collapse of ancient civilizations was one of the most culturally damaging events of human history, and we are lucky that we managed to revert, at least partially, the decay of knowledge that ensued.

eru 11y ago
Have you read much material from 500 years ago? Also, that's a pretty Europe centric view. Have you looked at eg China?
- claudius 11y ago
  > Also, that's a pretty Europe centric view. Have you looked at eg China? Culturally damaging events can be restricted to (relatively) small areas of the world. Conversely, Mao’s “Cultural Revolution” was also a culturally very damaging event in human history, despite being restricted to one (other) area. The idea that nothing that happened in Europe is relevant because there are other parts of the world, too and that considering an event in Europe to be potentially world-changing is “pretty Europe centric” is one of the reasons that few people outside humanities consider the field any more relevant to reality than, say, string theory. So, yes, stuff happened in China, too. Doesn’t mean that stuff didn’t also happen in Europe and that both stuff happening in China and stuff happening in Europe can affect the course of history.
roel_v 11y ago
"at least partially" What knowledge was lost then, that made the past 'better' (for a morally neutral meaning of that word)? (please don't say 'damascus steel')
- restalis 11y ago
  That was a provision, as one may never be fully aware of how much was there to begin with, considering that we're talking about a flourishing period for so many things (about which we've managed to savage knowledge).
- coliveira 11y ago
  There were big libraries, like the one in Alexandria, that were destroyed. Nobody knows exactly what was there, although we have several lists of books that have not made into the modern world.

eru 11y ago

Have you read much material from 500 years ago? Also, that's a pretty Europe centric view. Have you looked at eg China?

claudius 11y ago
> Also, that's a pretty Europe centric view. Have you looked at eg China? Culturally damaging events can be restricted to (relatively) small areas of the world. Conversely, Mao’s “Cultural Revolution” was also a culturally very damaging event in human history, despite being restricted to one (other) area. The idea that nothing that happened in Europe is relevant because there are other parts of the world, too and that considering an event in Europe to be potentially world-changing is “pretty Europe centric” is one of the reasons that few people outside humanities consider the field any more relevant to reality than, say, string theory. So, yes, stuff happened in China, too. Doesn’t mean that stuff didn’t also happen in Europe and that both stuff happening in China and stuff happening in Europe can affect the course of history.

roel_v 11y ago

"at least partially" What knowledge was lost then, that made the past 'better' (for a morally neutral meaning of that word)? (please don't say 'damascus steel')

restalis 11y ago
That was a provision, as one may never be fully aware of how much was there to begin with, considering that we're talking about a flourishing period for so many things (about which we've managed to savage knowledge).
coliveira 11y ago
There were big libraries, like the one in Alexandria, that were destroyed. Nobody knows exactly what was there, although we have several lists of books that have not made into the modern world.