Back to the Future: History and Humanity

Harari’s third revolution lead to a relationship between science and imperialism.  Scientific revolutions often required paradigm shifts that are associated with new empires to be accepted.  Natural selection, heliocentric universe, and other large scientific alterations were adopted when those in power supported the discovery, sometimes requiring a new empire to take control.  In addition, scientific exploration can be incredibly lucrative but initially can be quite expensive. In order for various scientific advancements to be explored, funds from the empires in power would be necessary. It is often funding that can direct scientific progress, as has been seen throughout history of the United States with space exploration and global warming being of varied interest depending on the party in power.  As science grew in importance in the eyes of human society and played a larger cultural role, it required a government and economy that could support it. This explains why certain societies were able to prosper scientifically sooner than others,with the Greeks and Chinese being some of the first to experience scientific, economic, and state growth.

Historians play a crucial role by not only reminding us of the past, but also ensuring we understand the signs of the future.  If science was only used to consider the future of homo sapiens, we would be simplified to statistically probable events or paths with the least resistance that would only account for the biological and chemically driven aspect of humanity.  The wild card of homo sapiens that came around during the Cognitive revolution is what results in us going against evolution, both for good and bad. Our decisions in regard to war, global warming, and other large issues can not be properly analyzed without assistance from historian who can analyze the unpredictable nature of humanity.