Ideas that have helped Mankind
Ideas that have helped Mankind are written by Bertrand Russell, the British philosopher, and mathematician, and half that both physical and mental phenomena can be explained in terms of a single common substance.
Besides he was a believer in peace. There is a unique clarity in his writing which made him a widely acclaimed author. The present piece is an essay taken from Unpopular Essays in which he questions how modem ideas have helped mankind.
The ideas that have helped men are based on knowledge and technique. The slow but gradual emergence of language, taming of animals, and the invention of agriculture are some ideas that have helped mankind the most.
Essay on Ideas that have helped Mankind
Today there might be a clamor for population control, But at the beginning of civilization, the increase in population helped him preserve himself against the adversities of nature and wildlife.
The capacity of foresight with which men can anticipate their problems is a great gift. We suffer not only the evils that befall all those that our intelligence tells us we have reason to fear.
The curbing of impulses to which we are led by forethought averts physical disaster at the cost of worry and a general lack of joy.
Summary of ideas that have helped Mankind
The first major step towards advancement was taken with the development of language without which it would have been very difficult to hand on from generation to generation the inventions and discoveries that were gradually made.
The taming of domestic animals, especially the cow and the sheep, made life much pleasanter and more secure. Some Anthropologists have the opinion that the people attempted to tame whatever animal, their religion taught them to worship.
The invention of agriculture was much more important. The consumption of food grains helped men become more human and less dependent on animal food. Above all, it was the art of writing that helped men attain intellectual superiority.
In this way, this brief essay of Russell provides an insight into the evolution of mean, of his appetites and faculties. Some of the steps were very preliminary but their importance cannot be underestimated.
