Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Why Western History Matters
Western civilization was not the result of some inevitable process through which other cultures will automatically pass. It emerged from a unique history in which chance and accident played a vital part. The institutions and ideas that provide for freedom and improvement in material conditions cannot flourish without an understanding of how they came about....
At the same time, the foundations of freedom have also come into question. Jefferson and his colleagues could confidently proclaim their political rights as the gift of a "Creator". By now, however, the power of religion has faded, and for many the basis for a modern political and moral order has been demolished. Nietzsche announced the death of God, and Dostoevsky's Grand Inquisitor asserted that when God is dead all things are permitted. Nihilism rejects any objective basis for society and its morality, the very concept of objectivity, even the possibility of communication itself, and a vulgar form of nihilism has a remarkable influence in our educational system today.
The consequences of the victory of such ideas would be enormous. If both religion and reason are removed, all that remains is will and power, where the only law is that of tooth and claw. There is no protection for the freedom of weaker individuals or those who question the authority of the most powerful. There is no basis for individual rights or for a critique of existing ideas and institutions....
--Donald Kagan, "Why Western History Matters", 1994
At the same time, the foundations of freedom have also come into question. Jefferson and his colleagues could confidently proclaim their political rights as the gift of a "Creator". By now, however, the power of religion has faded, and for many the basis for a modern political and moral order has been demolished. Nietzsche announced the death of God, and Dostoevsky's Grand Inquisitor asserted that when God is dead all things are permitted. Nihilism rejects any objective basis for society and its morality, the very concept of objectivity, even the possibility of communication itself, and a vulgar form of nihilism has a remarkable influence in our educational system today.
The consequences of the victory of such ideas would be enormous. If both religion and reason are removed, all that remains is will and power, where the only law is that of tooth and claw. There is no protection for the freedom of weaker individuals or those who question the authority of the most powerful. There is no basis for individual rights or for a critique of existing ideas and institutions....
--Donald Kagan, "Why Western History Matters", 1994
