The main benefit of the study of history is to dispel the illusion that people living now are significantly different from people who lived in earlier times

Essay topics:

The main benefit of the study of history is to dispel the illusion that people living now are significantly different from people who lived in earlier times.

History, as per the Oxford dictionary, is the study of past events particularly related to human affairs. These are the events which shaped humanity, societies and nations; spanning from the primitive human life to the present net-age. Studying History is therefore, like a travel through time which itself brings many significant outcomes apart from the realization that our predecessors were no different than us.

The statement that studying history would dispel the illusion that our ancestors – presumably homo sapiens - were no different than us finds the support in the fact that the basic human needs, emotions and qualities have always remained the same. Food, shelter and clothing have always been the prime human needs regardless of the time and location. It is for these fundamental needs that humans engaged in hunting, agriculture and trade which still is the main human activity though in an advanced manner. Emotions such as love, empathy, compassion, rage, etc. have always been the same. Social evils such as stealing, murders, assault, sexual violence, female feticide, etc. plaguing the society today were no different in the past. Studying the history of the city of ‘Sodom’ would certainly dispel the illusion that homosexuality is a modern western creation. A review of the history of the scientific and architectural achievements of the Egyptian civilization and the likes would dismiss the misconception that the whites are more intellectually advanced or of superior intelligence than people of colour from the past

However, the statement ignores many other important benefits of studying history. History teaches us what our predecessors have tried and achieved in science, healthcare, international diplomacy, economy, etc. so that we can start over from where they left. For instance, it is upon the historical work of Max Planck, Albert Einstein, etc. that the modern physics’ foundation is built upon. One can learn from history how the problems humans face today were perceived and addressed by the past societies and what were the ultimate results. For example, perusing through the history of the World Wars and the resulting carnage educate us that war can never be a solution to the existing animosities between the nations. Moreover, reading about great leaders and revolutionaries inspires us to stand and fight for the oppressed. Studying the history of our cultural heritage inculcates a sense of pride in our arts, monuments and traditions and propels us to take initiative to preserve them.

Secondly, the statement forgoes the fact that though the early civilizations were similar to the present one in terms of basic needs, qualities and vices; they were strikingly different in their behaviour. Human treatment towards their women, adversaries, animals and environment has continually evolved. Women have more rights than ever; the thought of an organization like PETA for animals was unprecedented in the past; various conventions have been signed to protect prisoners of wars and prevent war crimes; slavery have been formally abolished, and so on. The attitude of people towards customs, literature and religious beliefs have also drastically changed. Iconoclastic views, though a taboo or even a crime in the past, have now been well-taken and healthily debated upon.

In conclusion, though the statement is true that history dispels the illusion that people today are no different than those earlier in their needs, feelings, and intelligence; it fails to acknowledge that the benefits of studying history are manifold and goes beyond dismissing that misconception. Moreover, it fails to recognize that history also informs about the continuous evolution in the human behaviour towards each other and their approach towards traditions and beliefs.

Votes
Average: 9.2 (2 votes)
Essay Categories

Comments

Grammar and spelling errors:
Line 1, column 273, Rule ID: A_UNCOUNTABLE[1]
Message: Uncountable nouns are usually not used with an indefinite article. Use simply 'travel'.
Suggestion: travel
...ge. Studying History is therefore, like a travel through time which itself brings many s...
^^^^^^^^
Line 1, column 408, Rule ID: RATHER_THEN[2]
Message: Did you mean 'different 'from''? 'Different than' is often considered colloquial style.
Suggestion: from
...that our predecessors were no different than us. The statement that studying h...
^^^^
Line 5, column 128, Rule ID: RATHER_THEN[2]
Message: Did you mean 'different 'from''? 'Different than' is often considered colloquial style.
Suggestion: from
...umably homo sapiens - were no different than us finds the support in the fact that t...
^^^^
Line 5, column 485, Rule ID: IN_A_X_MANNER[1]
Message: Consider replacing "in an advanced manner" with adverb for "advanced"; eg, "in a hasty manner" with "hastily".
...still is the main human activity though in an advanced manner. Emotions such as love, empathy, compas...
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Line 5, column 678, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: Plaguing
... sexual violence, female feticide, etc. plaguing the society today were no different in ...
^^^^^^^^
Line 5, column 1136, Rule ID: WHITESPACE_RULE
Message: Possible typo: you repeated a whitespace
Suggestion:
...ence than people of colour from the past However, the statement ignores many othe...
^^^^^^^^
Line 17, column 114, Rule ID: RATHER_THEN[2]
Message: Did you mean 'different 'from''? 'Different than' is often considered colloquial style.
Suggestion: from
...sion that people today are no different than those earlier in their needs, feelings,...
^^^^

Transition Words or Phrases used:
also, however, if, moreover, second, secondly, so, still, therefore, well, apart from, for example, for instance, in conclusion, such as

Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments

Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 26.0 19.5258426966 133% => OK
Auxiliary verbs: 6.0 12.4196629213 48% => OK
Conjunction : 27.0 14.8657303371 182% => OK
Relative clauses : 20.0 11.3162921348 177% => OK
Pronoun: 43.0 33.0505617978 130% => Less pronouns wanted
Preposition: 67.0 58.6224719101 114% => OK
Nominalization: 21.0 12.9106741573 163% => OK

Performance on vocabulary words:
No of characters: 3243.0 2235.4752809 145% => OK
No of words: 592.0 442.535393258 134% => OK
Chars per words: 5.47804054054 5.05705443957 108% => OK
Fourth root words length: 4.93265142912 4.55969084622 108% => OK
Word Length SD: 2.88836826655 2.79657885939 103% => OK
Unique words: 304.0 215.323595506 141% => OK
Unique words percentage: 0.513513513514 0.4932671777 104% => OK
syllable_count: 1003.5 704.065955056 143% => OK
avg_syllables_per_word: 1.7 1.59117977528 107% => OK

A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by:
Pronoun: 7.0 6.24550561798 112% => OK
Article: 6.0 4.99550561798 120% => OK
Subordination: 4.0 3.10617977528 129% => OK
Conjunction: 2.0 1.77640449438 113% => OK
Preposition: 2.0 4.38483146067 46% => More preposition wanted as sentence beginning.

Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 27.0 20.2370786517 133% => OK
Sentence length: 21.0 23.0359550562 91% => OK
Sentence length SD: 77.0691528498 60.3974514979 128% => OK
Chars per sentence: 120.111111111 118.986275619 101% => OK
Words per sentence: 21.9259259259 23.4991977007 93% => OK
Discourse Markers: 5.03703703704 5.21951772744 97% => OK
Paragraphs: 5.0 4.97078651685 101% => OK
Language errors: 7.0 7.80617977528 90% => OK
Sentences with positive sentiment : 9.0 10.2758426966 88% => OK
Sentences with negative sentiment : 8.0 5.13820224719 156% => OK
Sentences with neutral sentiment: 10.0 4.83258426966 207% => Less facts, knowledge or examples wanted.
What are sentences with positive/Negative/neutral sentiment?

Coherence and Cohesion:
Essay topic to essay body coherence: 0.194080817664 0.243740707755 80% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.0460242306424 0.0831039109588 55% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.059140581495 0.0758088955206 78% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.115613153997 0.150359130593 77% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.0532309504051 0.0667264976115 80% => OK

Essay readability:
automated_readability_index: 15.3 14.1392134831 108% => OK
flesch_reading_ease: 41.7 48.8420337079 85% => OK
smog_index: 8.8 7.92365168539 111% => OK
flesch_kincaid_grade: 12.7 12.1743820225 104% => OK
coleman_liau_index: 14.5 12.1639044944 119% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 9.43 8.38706741573 112% => OK
difficult_words: 178.0 100.480337079 177% => OK
linsear_write_formula: 14.5 11.8971910112 122% => OK
gunning_fog: 10.4 11.2143820225 93% => OK
text_standard: 15.0 11.7820224719 127% => OK
What are above readability scores?

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Rates: 83.33 out of 100
Scores by essay e-grader: 5.0 Out of 6
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Note: the e-grader does NOT examine the meaning of words and ideas. VIP users will receive further evaluations by advanced module of e-grader and human graders.