posted
Okay, I just read OSC's recent article which made reference to Will Durant's Heroes of History.
I'm curious, has OSC read any of the Story of Civilization? I'm still only on volume 3, Ceasar and Christ.
It's long, it's detailed, yet at the same time these sometimes as long as a thousand page books seem to just... skim over stuff. But anyway, I'm curious as to his view of them, if he has read them.
Posts: 1577 | Registered: Sep 2005
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posted
I started reading Story of Civilization, but as you say, it skims over stuff. And by the time I started, I was old enough to recognize Durant's bias, which is not obnoxious - but I prefer history books that deal with smaller chunks in greater depth, providing enough detail that I can make up my own mind about questionable issues.
It doesn't change the fact that the books are, as overviews go, about as good as it gets. And I appreciate the pro-western stance. Western Civ is, in fact, the highest achievement of the human race, bringing about the greatest possible happiness for the greatest number. Those who savagely criticize it are neglecting their core duty: comparing it to other civilizations fairly. With all it's misdeeds and missteps, western civ fairly steadily moved us toward a decency of life and an increase in human knowledge and technology that enable unthinkably large populations to live relatively secure and prosperous lives.
Other civilizations have in fact surpassed this or that aspect of western civ at this or that period of time - but there are always drawbacks. For instance, the Iroquois were in a better condition before the advent of Europeans (and their diseases) than the Europeans were. But that business of institutionalized torture as public sport - let's not overlook that in evaluating the relative merits. Not that Europeans didn't have torture (Hi, Torquemada!) - but it was widely regarded as monstrous and evil, whereas we have no evidence that the Iroquois questioned the rectitude of torturing captured enemies for entertainment or triumph or whatever thrill it gave them - with the women and children not just watching, but taking part. No civilization is perfect; ours has aspired higher and achieved more than any other.
So bravo to Will Durant for recognizing that!
Posts: 2005 | Registered: Jul 1999
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And Western Civilization stopped being the sole province of the West back in...well, a long time ago. Even the fact that it is generally called Western rather than Roman/German/English/French/Italian(repeatingmyself-timetostop)/etc. Civilization gives a pretty good clue as to the source of that greatness.
Quite simply, it is the civilization that has gathered together all the good parts from every culture it has encountered, even from civilizations that were (and remain) hostile to it. It is only natural that this very openness should sometimes veer into unthinking acceptance of even that which is vile in other cultures (such as their hatred for "Western" civilization and its freedoms and vitality).
Part of that vitality is in its willingness to actually try out those ideas and let the chaff fall by the wayside. Whether that's fortunate or not depends a lot on whether you've chosen to be chaff, I suppose.
Posts: 763 | Registered: Aug 1999
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posted
It also has a lot of stuff still wrong with it, but its flaws won't matter much after it self-destructs.
Posts: 2005 | Registered: Jul 1999
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posted
Hmm. I know that Durant had a bit of a bias of some sort, but sadly, I'm still not as experienced as I could be. What, from your view, is his bias, OSC? (If I am to dare expect you to answer another post of mine, that is.)
by the way, I feel that once I have my own personal library, the Story of Civilization will be pretty well at the center of it... as a pretty decent reference tool. "Oh, you want a good bit of history? Here, check this book and it'll tell you an overview and a good number of the original sources you should read. Enjoy!"
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