What shapes historical development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

What shapes historical development - Essay Example To analyze, since the beginning of time, the nature of man has been disposed to the interest of discoveries which has apparently guided them to establish civilizations and lay foundations for knowledge of various fields. Hence, as humans search for a sense of identity, of humanity, or of the truth in what they are in relation to others of their kind and the environment, in general, they inevitably do tasks or perform activities that create unseen force essential to evolution from one state of nature to the next. The capacity and attitude for quest occurs to be the key which enables men to adapt, make changes, and explore possibilities in order to have a meaningful existence. As a rational being, man thinks and such intrinsic ability to form logical thoughts or ideas is crucial to man’s aim of satisfying a bulk of curiosities and needs, whether concrete or abstract in form. In this manner, thus, men along with their searching nature, skills, vision, deeds, and ways of thinking chiefly shape the course of historical development. Because humans influence each other in a vast number of ways, time after time, early civilizations develop into a more complex system of relations where they have gradually discovered efficient means and tools of sustaining life and addressing different challenges of living. Eventually, there emerged the intertwined concept of ‘progress’ and ‘success’ as men come to understand more deeply the value of human intelligence, of reason, and of persevering act necessary to achieve goals in the study of science, religion, philosophy, arts, music, and literature. The increasing knowledge on these subject areas allows formation of cultures and societies that are distinct from each other and such distinction affects historical context. Moreover, it is through knowledge that men examine themselves as sensible individuals and learn of power and conquest for which economy and politics matter in further structuring the norms of ethics and moral law within a society. When nations march for war against one another, this event would undoubtedly mark a point of development as history exhibits how ideals differ depending on the political and economic position of a country involved compared to the rest. Consequently, the similarities and dissimilarities in beliefs or views of men identify what a nation, culture, or average community is made of and illustrate that differences among human perspectives herein can be vital player in determining specific factors by which historical development proceeds in any part of the world. It turns out that, for as long as men can manage to acquire and apply knowledge, as well as become socio-politically aware, and engage in scientific, literary, or philosophical efforts for the sake of attaining power and progress, then historical development continues to be modified through interactions and the events to which they yield. Does this historical development have a patter n? If so, what is this pattern? Yes. Historical development seems to be patterned after a process in which a civilization or a nation rises in power as an empire then declines or falls weak after sometime due to conflicts originating either from the side of the ruler or that of the subjects or people whose economic or cultural issues have not been settled or dealt with in proper terms. A historically critical person may observe a cycle where the state of economy varies directly as the state of politics so that the principal workers of this system are normally headed to the