Thinking About History

[Larry124]

Thanks Ted.
I hesitated to include that reference for that reason. It could have been any subject. I recommend the book.

My point is that (for example) when reading a history about the relations and disputes between Clans and others (English, Irish, other Clans), and particularly who was at fault in a dispute, and how a dispute was resolved, I try to keep in mind the following.

• When was the book written? (Or how old is a reference in a contemporary book?)
• What was the nature of the society in which the author lived?
• Is anything known about the author’s religious, political, or cultural beliefs?

Sometimes bias is relatively clear:
Was it the (American) Civil War or The War Between the States?
Was it the American Revolution, The War of Independence, or the Rebellion of the American Colonies?
Even a scholarly author will (intentionally or unintentionally) exhibit a point of view.

“A World Lit Only by Fire” is to me one of the most thought-provoking titles ever.
Can we imagine such? Can we really imagine the unending toil, illiteracy, low life expectancy, infant mortality, medieval medical care, feudalism, religious compulsion, face to face warfare, pillage, and plunder -- and on and on and on? What in our experience is in any way like it?

I think that the decisions and actions that a man or groups of men felt necessary to feed, clothe, and shelter themselves, or to provide for and protect their families, or to support and protect their communities, are things that we should be very hesitant to judge, let alone begrudge.
We do not, and can not, fully understand.