[b]Yuval Noah Harari
We study history not to know the future but to widen our horizons, to understand that our present situation is neither natural nor inevitable, and that we consequently have many more possibilities before us than we imagine.[/b]
On the other hand, there’s how the objectivists study history. If you know what I mean.
…in order to change an existing imagined order, we must first believe in an alternative imagined order.
I know: It better be yours.
Each and every one of us has been born into a given historical reality, ruled by particular norms and values, and managed by a unique economic and political system. We take this reality for granted, thinking it is natural, inevitable and immutable.
At least try to grasp the implications of this.
History isn’t a single narrative, but thousands of alternative narratives. Whenever we choose to tell one, we are also choosing to silence others.
At least try to grasp the implications of this.
Domesticated chickens and cattle may well be an evolutionary success story, but they are also among the most miserable creatures that ever lived. The domestication of animals was founded on a series of brutal practices that only became crueller with the passing of the centuries.
On the other hand, he figured, if we didn’t eat them there’d be a hell of a lot less of them around.
People are usually afraid of change because they fear the unknown. But the single greatest constant of history is that everything changes.
And then the part where it changes for all of eternity.