History, Philosophy, Action

We'll be going on a journey together

Herodotus, 2nd Century AD — Metropolitan Museum of Art Via Wikimedia Commons, Modified By Author

Welcome to my new history newsletter. “New” and “history” sounds like an oxymoron, but it’s farthest from the truth. The fruit of history sits all around you. And this brings me to the announcement my new publication History, Philosophy, Action (HPA)

Hopefully, I’ll give you something a bit different than you’re used to. This will be a mixture of history and philosophy, with everything that comes between. It all starts with the man staring at you — Herodotus.

Herodotus is the ultimate wanderer and wonderer according to Edith Hamilton in her book The Greek Way. She explains he set forth to travel as far as humanly possible in his time (in the fifth century BC). She calls him “the first sight-seer in the world.” He also did it happily.

Hamilton says the word “history” means investigation in Greek. And that’s what Herodotus did.

Upon his journey, he took note of everything he saw and the stories of people he encountered, leaving himself out. Inadvertently, he created what we’d later call “history.” You can call him our founding CEO.

It’s why I picked Herodotus’ bust as the symbol of this publication. History is traveling. While our founder physically traveled, we have the option of traveling through time. What we’ll see is a mixture of terror and wonder. In essence, it’s us. History is a mirror of the complex creature human beings are.

But it’s much more than this.

One of the greatest historians of our time Will Durant said, “History is philosophy in action,” in Heroes of History. And he’d be the ideal person to know. Durant started out as a philosophy teacher, penning the influential book The Story of Philosophy. But he lost his love for it over time.

As he lived, and studied more, he’d see philosophy not applied. For many it’s just words. But history, now that’s a different animal. It’s all application. In its very nature, it’s a story of action. While not always the best actions and practices, it’s never stale.

So, What Should You Expect?

Our founding CEO used the Greek term investigation for his style of writing, which we now know as history.

That’s what you should expect. Everything written here will be researched, with loving diligence. While I’ll have opinions, and time shift from past to present to make connections, everything published will be built on a solid foundation of researched knowledge.

It’ll also be packed in a capsule of entertaining storytelling, which is one of the greatest human technologies of all time.

As Will Durant mentioned, we’ll also have connections with philosophy. Expect to see some science too. In fact, get ready for a full mixed bag held together by history and the investigative nature of our founder.

One final promise to you. I’ll never waste your time, which is valuable beyond all measure. You’ll always find something interesting, researched, and thought out.

We’d be thrilled if you follow and read our publication. Come travel through time with us in the footsteps of our founder and watch as we put philosophy in action.