Question

Can you think of reasons why we should study the work of thinkers who died long ago? What could be some reasons to not study them?

Answer 1

The work of thinkers who died long ago needs to be studied because it is important to understand the impact of their ideologies in order to know the present-day societies well. For example, to understand the communist model and its failures, one needs to study the theories developed by Karl Marx on capitalism and communism.

Some theories of scholars are still relevant in present-day societies. The idea of bureaucracy by Max Weber is a very important element of the functioning of present-day societies in which we are living.

Their theories also provide many answers to social developments of the past. For example, the progress of western societies compared to Asian societies can be understood through the study of Protestant-Ethic and the Rise of Capitalism by Max Weber.

The difference between sociology and psychology can be understood by the study of ‘Suicide’ done by Emile Durkheim.

Reasons for not studying the works of early thinkers are that some of the old concepts may not be applicable to the present-day societies. This can be attributed to unforeseen changes in social, economic, cultural, and technological fields which accompany the advent of a new era. For instance, the theory of Karl Marx where he concludes that the working class would protest against the capitalist and a new form of socialist regime would emerge was eventually proved wrong, and later the theory of Max Weber was accepted. Also, there are many critics of the theory. For instance, the ideology of the Indian villages being a self-sufficient entity by the western scholars was highly criticised by the Indian scholars like M.N. Srinivas, according to whom, the villages were connected with the outside world.