The significance of history in philosophy

Abstract

Many people denied the past of any relevance. In their conception the past cannot serve as a platform to the needed progress and development in the various businesses of life; and it cannot make us better in the present nor guide us to a better future. The task in this article is to argue that the past is fundamentally important to growth and development in philosophy. To do this the article first of all x-rayed some conceptions which relegate the past and denigrate it of any relevance. Then, it presented some conceivable reasons for this denigration. Next, it argued that history as dialectical is an instrument of social change. Furthermore, it attempted to show the consequences arising or that will arise from the neglect of the past. It presented some practical roles which history plays in philosophy. Then, it concluded that the past is relevant to both present and future because it is the prelude to an improved present and future in philosophy.

Keywords: History, Neglect of the Past, Philosophy, Dialectical, Significance of the Past, Intellectual Evolution