New Philosophical Question

[Thuy Vuong]

AIYAAAAA! Nothing new came up so I'm taking initiative and starting a
new topic.

"If we can change something in history, should we change it? Consider
the consequences and outcomes."

Something off the top of my head. DISCUSS!

Cheers,
Thuy

[David Reich]

AIAIAIAI!

Erm.  This is a difficult question, really.  I mean, there are a ton of very distinct events that one would think at first that it would be a very good idea to change - Hero of Alexandria, Romans in Germany, Christianity/Constantine, Charlemagne's will, and a whole lot of others that I don't feel like thinking of right now.    I don't think it's very productive to just take the idea of changing history as a whole and discuss it - We'll get sidetracked on various events, and there's no particular way to say it's good or bad to 'change history' in the general.  I propose we look at a specific example.

For that example, I would say either Hero of Alexandria or William Pitt the Elder.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero_of_Alexandria. If this one guy had understood the potential of steam-power a bit better, the industrial revolution would have happened about 2000 years early.  Of course, this means Roman culture would suddenly have railways and cannon.  Would they be ready for it?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Pitt,_1st_Earl_of_Chatham.  If this guy had been better at convincing other guys to agree with him, the American revolution might not have happened - because instead of taking 'no taxation without representation' to mean, 'no taxation', He would have given the colonies recognition and greater independence, while leaving them as part of the British Empire.  How would Britain retaining America have changed history?

[Robert Burdick]

Well just sort of as my understanding of it, the William Pitt thing, just sort of stickling for details here, I think the goal of the colonists was actually to become a more integral part of the brittish empire and gain real elected representation in parliament because they felt as brittish citizens they were being neglected, it wasn't until later that they had grown so fed up with it and saw that as long as there was sling things weren't going to change (of  course their only idea of a king was a stark raving, bat shit insane german in king George III)

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