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The commonly used expression, "Those who ignore history are bound (or doomed) to repeat it" is actually a mis-quotation of the original text written by George Santayana (1863-1952), who, in his Reason in Common Sense, The Life of Reason, Vol.1, wrote "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
Stanford University online also provides an outstanding and much more detailed background on this important and profound philosopher, essayist, poet and novelist.
Santayana's quotation, in turn, was a slight modification of an Edmund Burke (1729-1797) statement, "Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it." Burke was a British Statesman and Philosopher who is generally viewed as the philosophical founder of modern political conservatism.
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A classic example is Hitler's invasion of Russia. Napoleon had done that, and Hitler made the same mistake, and suffered the same fate. On both occasions, the Russians simply retreated , drawing the enemy further and further into Russia in their advance, and then, when they Russian winter struck, and the invaders were unprepared and ill-equipped to deal with it, they were slaughtered in their thousands during their retreat.
Hitler was fully aware of Napoleon's plight and had planned meticulously how not to fall into the same trap by using the new offensive technique of Blitzkreig (lightning strike). The plan was for Army Group North to take Leningrad, Army Group Centre to take Moscow and Army Group South to take Stalingrad and the Caucasus oilfields. All before the winter weather made mobility impossible.
The original start date for Operation Barbarossa was accordingly 15th May 1941 but Mussolini's failing invasion of Greece required German intervention to protect Operation Barbarossa's southern flank. German troops invaded Greece on April 6, 1941; Athens fell on 27 April and mainland Greece was fully occupied by mid-May.
Nevertheless, the six week campaign led to Operation Barbarossa being launched five and a half weeks later than planned, on 22 June. Weather (rain and mud at first before the snows) slowed the advance from early October onwards, meaning that the Blitzkreig part of the campaign was shortened from the planned 20 weeks, to just 14. How vital those six weeks would have been we will never know but whilst none of the main city objectives (Leningrad, Moscow and Stalingrad) were taken, all three almost fell. After the Germans took 3 million Russian soldiers captive during the advance, only 90,000 remained to defend Moscow by late 1941.
Arguably it wasn't ignoring the lesson of history that was Hitler's fatal mistake, it was not adapting to changing circumstances.
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." CITES: George Santayana, The Life of Reason or The Phases of Human Progress: Reason in Common Sense 284 (2nd ed., Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, New York 1924 (originally published 1905 Charles Scribner's Sons)(appears in chapter XII, "Flux and Constancy in Human Nature")). George Santayana, The Life of Reason or The Phases of Human Progress 82 (one-volume edition, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, New York 1954)(appears in Book I, Reason in Common Sense, chapter 10, "Flux and Constancy in Human Nature"). This information was found at: http://members.aol.com/Santayana/gsguestbook.htm Hope this helps. ARISTOTLE SAID THAT!
Me! but Im sure somebody else famous did before me though...
The true answer would be George Santayana. This is an often mis-attributed quote and is also known as "Santayana's Law of Repeating Consequences."
Actually the author originally credited with any such phrase is Edmund Burke. He died before George Santayana was born.
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∙ 2015-07-17 14:29:11
Anonymous
So ~~after 70 + years after the horrifying Holocaust and sickening histories of survivors' and their families shot and burned and gassed mothers and others tortured in the death camps like Auschwitz were NOT REAL// \ get my point!
It is the subject of racism or Anti Semitism and the Holocaust museum exists_ and Jew Bashing hmmm! and now Eugenics talks,
that is Why the White Supremacists are i it in the news again! and I am White!
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George Santayana
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Poet: Santayana
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Churchill
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What are the advantages of history?
Those who do not know history are bound to repeat it
What is the good slogan of teacher?
those who do not learn from history are bound to repeat it you are studying for your future not my future understood......
Why do people ignore slaveries existence?
it's something people try to put behind them. I study slavery in-depth, let me tell you, people need to have a good knowledge about this because, as they say "history is bound to repeat itself." It's similar to the reason that the Germans try to ignore the Holocaust.
Does History Really Repeat itself?
yes history does repeat itself sadly it already has. The saying those who do not remember history are doomed to repeat it, refers to the fact that when a mistake is made and a lesson is not learned or the result of the mistake was not severe enough to merit remembrance that the same mistake is bound to be repeated. By the same token when something really good happens it will be repeated as well hoping for the same result. I once heard that the definition of stupidity is the constant repetition of the same bad behavior, and the expectation of a different result each time.
Could there be another civil war why or why not?
if we forget the past we are bound to repeat it
What direction would you cross the international date line to repeat a day?
east-bound
Why does the state of New York want students to learn history?
Perhaps because If you don't know History you are bound to repeat it. New York's schools would love to produce scholars and thinkers and they, like other states and countries sometimes achieve that goal.
Write an algorithm for quick sort?
Given an array, A, and the lower and upper bounds of a subarray within the array, sort the subarray: 1. If lower bound is not less than upper bound then exit. The subarray is sorted. 2. Pick a pivot value from the subarray at random 3. Swap the pivot value with the value located in the upper bound 4. Let left = lower bound 5. Let right = upper bound 6. Repeat while left<right { 6.1. Increment left while left value is less than pivot value 6.2 Decrement right while right value is not less than pivot value 6.3. If left<right, swap left value with right value } 7. Swap left value with upper bound value (the pivot) 8. Repeat algorithm using the current lower bound and left-1 as the upper bound 9. Repeat algorithm using the current upper bound and left+1 as the lower bound
To what degree are you bound by your culture?
Any where from some degree to the nth degree depending upon your identification with your culture. Culture is learned. Those who apply what they learn are bound by those actions.
What has the author Joshua L Miner written?
Joshua L. Miner has written: 'Outward Bound U.S.A' -- subject(s): History, Inc Outward Bound, Outward bound schools
What is a rule of law?
Basic principle that government and those who govern are bound by the fundamental law.
What does serf mean in history?
An agricultural laborer bound under the feudal system to work on his lord's estate.
