To learn more about why these memes are so popular, we contacted Dr. Constantina Katsari, who has a Ph.D. in economic history and a long and successful career in UK academia.
"I always thought that history is instrumental in the formation of logical thinking," Dr. Katsari told Bored Panda.
"Without it, critical analysis remains deficient. At the same time, history teaches good citizenship and enhances political instincts. Above all, history helps us distinguish truth from lies. As a seeker of truth, I especially value the skills I acquired over the decades."
Dr. Katsari agrees with the popular phrase that history is written by the victors. "After all, most losers are dead, maimed, politically inactive, or otherwise condemned to invisibility," she explained.
However, there are still ways we can get a different perspective on things. "Saying that, we should not forget the value of archaeology that helps us fill in the gaps and gives a voice to non-victors," Dr. Katsari added.
Interestingly, some philosophers draw attention to the doubts that may be felt when history is compared with different branches of investigation, such as chemistry or biology.
By contrast with such inquiries, the historian's procedure, including the manner in which he conceptualizes his data and the principles of argument he employs, may appear to be governed by subjective or culturally determined predilections that, as a result, are contestable and, therefore, out of place in a supposedly reputable form of knowledge.
One topic that was repeatedly examined in this context was the role of evaluation (specifically, moral evaluation) in historical writing—a subject, incidentally, about which historians themselves are apt to exhibit a certain uneasiness.
Many argue that value judgment can and should be totally excluded from history and, indeed, from social studies as a whole. However, this viewpoint does have its opponents, too.
Objectors highlight that the language the historian uses, adapted as it is to the assessment and appraisal of human motives and characteristics, makes some degree of evaluation unavoidable.
They argue that, even if the possibility of a drastically revised historical vocabulary allows the ideal of a wertfrei, or objective history, to be theoretically conceivable, such an ideal can scarcely be seriously entertained as a realizable practical goal.
