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Why do we glorify horrible people from the distant past? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 3 months ago by Konis@sh.itjust.works to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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Julius Ceasar, Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan and many more...

These people had beliefs and worldviews that were so horribly, by today's standards, that calling them fascist would be huge understatement. And they followed through by committing a lot of evil.

Aren't we basically glorifying the Hitlers of centuries past?

I know, historians always say that one should not judge historical figures by contemporary moral standards. But there's a difference between objectively studying history and actually glorifying these figures.

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[-] Hegar@fedia.io 5 points 3 months ago

The people whose deeds reverberate through history are the powerful. The powerful are almost always evil, it's just how humans work.

Neuroscience shows that as humans get power, our brain's ability to perform empathy is damaged. So as an organism, a human's capacity and willingness to inflict misery on others tend to increase in lock step with each other.

this post was submitted on 15 Aug 2024

138 points (87.1% liked)

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