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Does history matter any more? In an era when both the past and
memory seem to be sources of considerable interest and, frequently,
lively debate, has the academic discipline of history ceased to
offer the connection between past and present experience that it
was originally intended to provide? In short, has History become a
bridge to nowhere, a structure over a river whose course has been
permanently altered? This is the overarching question that the
contributors to The River of History : Trans-national and
Trans-disciplinary Perspectives on the Immanence of the Past seek
to answer. Drawn from a broad spectrum of scholarly disciplines,
the authors tackle a wide range of more specific questions touching
on this larger one. Does history, as it is practised in
universities, provide any useful context for the average Canadian
or has the task of historical consciousness-shaping passed to
filmmakers and journalists? What can the history of Aboriginal and
non-Aboriginal conceptions of land and property tell us about
contemporary relations between these cultures? Is there a way to
own the past that fosters sincere stock-taking without proprietary
interest or rigid notions of linearity? And, finally, what does the
history of technological change suggest about humanity's ability to
manage the process now and in the future? The philosopher
Heraclitus once likened history to a river and argued for its
otherness by stating that "No man can cross the same river twice,
because neither the man nor the river is the same." This collection
reconsiders this conceptualization, taking the reader on a journey
along the river in an effort to better comprehend the ways in which
past, present, and future are interconnected. With Contributions
By: Jeffrey Scott Brown A.R. Buck Carol B. Duncan Peter Farrugia
James Gerrie Leo Groarke Stephen F.Haller John S. Hill John McLaren
M. Carleton Simpson Robert Wright Nancy E. Wright
Using arguments that parallel those of Blaise Pascal and William
James, Haller offers prudential reasons for caution that should
convince those not already persuaded by ethical arguments. While
models of global systems can reveal only possible, not probable,
futures, the catastrophic threats posed by such things as global
warming, ozone depletion, or population increase represent what
James would call "live options": that is, they present us with a
plausible possibility that forces us to make momentous decisions.
Haller concludes that we cannot afford to risk catastrophe, despite
the high costs this decision involves.
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