What a delightful surprise. Thankyou for making these presentations.
@ryanash8316
14 күн бұрын
A few months ago I found the Age of Napoleon in my library. When I realized it was the last book out of a series I knew I had to read the whole series. The informations so dense I’m reading it slowly, and so I think you’re right to take this channel slowly. It took Will and Ariel 40+ years
@mliittsc63
14 күн бұрын
Given that sedentism predates agriculture, I think it likely that agriculture developed in order to maintain sedentism. A sedentary community can only get so big before the distance to unexploited hunting and gathering areas becomes too far to reach easily.
@mikemurray2027
14 күн бұрын
thanks, very good video.
@lillyellipsis7516
15 күн бұрын
This is one of my favorite new channels on KZitem. I’m excited to have these videos as a sort of companion to my reading of this series. I hope you continue to put out consistent content, and I encourage you to branch out into videos outside of this series. I find you very easy to listen to, and I am enjoying your commentary.
@KosmiekAltertainment
18 күн бұрын
I think i learned there were 5 continents, because Australia or Australasia being a separate one came to me much later. Even after Antarctica i believe. I grew up in the 70s / 80s in western Europe,. The 7 continents is now the prevailing idea i believe, but indeed i have heard of calling Europe Asia and Africa one because of a shared landmass. This made me wonder what our definition of a continent actually is, and that this thinking might make a place like Iceland a continent all on its own, and the entire Americaś just one.
@KosmiekAltertainment
19 күн бұрын
The Durants must have been some interesting people. What an undertaking, and to produce such a result. Obviously you have introduced me to them, i had not consciously heard of their Story of Civilization before, so thank you very much. I will be watching all of this. Really enjoy your presentation of it. Edit: Thank you for highlighting the quote at 13:40 and explaining it. As history becomes more and more complicated we need to have a broad view and somehow bring all the specialisms to usable philosophies on living, on what progress is and what we want out of it.
@martgatz75
20 күн бұрын
Can't wait to follow along, especially into the Roman and Age of Faith era! Great job so far.
@SS-qk8oc
23 күн бұрын
~”the past is the present, unrolled for our inspection, and the present is the past, rolled up for action “ Durant’s thinking is both very deep AND very, very broad. Ideas, personalities, events, technology, etc. The level of his “learned-ness” is crazy. His surveys and summaries often carry as much depth and insight as modern specialist treatments, imho.
@bogtrottername7001
25 күн бұрын
Love those kitties !
@bencopeland3560
29 күн бұрын
I don’t think there’s a consensus belief that we deliberately selected for the non-shattering trait. Many think it was more of an accidental process. In a wild field full of shattering plants, harvest is done by threshing the right there in the field and discarding the stalk. Ergo those seeds with the non-shattering property are left on the ground and their numbers are concentrated in the population of the field over time.
@dannyboycinco
Ай бұрын
i'm only 400 pages deep into Our Oriental Heritage and wow... the information is so DENSE and i've realized i've stumbled upon a real TREASURE
@martgatz75
20 күн бұрын
I originally started listening to the audiobook of Ceasar and Christ and halfway through realized it was a masterpiece and bought the entire hardcover collection. Each book is incredible and Durant is a very talented writer.
@dannyboycinco
19 күн бұрын
@@martgatz75 agreed! Can’t wait to get that volume! I’m still only at page 688 in our oriental heritage…his recommendations are to not read more than 1 chapter per day to let the information simmer. So I know this will be a long and enjoyable journey!
@martgatz75
18 күн бұрын
@@dannyboycinco Its worth it. I think each volume is better than the last.
@terrymoran3705
Ай бұрын
Wonderful lecture! Loved your balance and pacing of the story. I suppose this means i have to read another crushing volume of prehistory. OMG!! Still, thank you so much. Really enjoyed it.
@WhatsPastisPrologue
Ай бұрын
Thanks Terry, very kind of you say that. I try to get some of Durant's ideas across as well as some of things we’ve discovered since the books were published. Thanks again.
@peterkavanagh64
Ай бұрын
Syabikity in rearing a young family to walking abikity was thezr firxt seeds
@classiclife7204
Ай бұрын
Pairing the Declaration of Independence with "Capital" as sources of cultural creation undermining social order will give some Americans in your audience a stroke, ha ha! Another thought that occurs to me: people should know that by "race" Durant means the human race, rather than one race of people. The word comes up a LOT and I wish the word "species" was more in use back in the 1930s, so that folks wouldn't freak out about it.
@rafaelsodre_eachday
Ай бұрын
-Dogs were domesticated well before agriculture. -Continents: 1)N America 2)S America 3)Africa 4)Europe 5)Asia 6)Oceania
@classiclife7204
Ай бұрын
Great point about the very meaning of the phrase "our oriental heritage" NOT being what Said was rightly complaining about: most Western writers from before Durant's time, and some after, dismissing our Eastern and Asian heritage as hardly apparent or even important. Complete opposite case in this volume.
@classiclife7204
Ай бұрын
Subbed; best of luck to you. I do think it should be stressed what this series is NOT about: endless recounting of military engagements. Many drop out when they realize, "Holy cow, he just keeps talking about architecture! And who's this Diderot guy?" I wish the series could be renamed "The Cultural History of Western Civilization," because that's precisely what it is. At least 1/4 of the whole set is art history. If that seems unbearable to you, you may not like the books. Also a word to the extremists on the margins who SCREAM the loudest: Durant was a man of his time (and his wife was a woman of that time as well), so you're going to see things like "man" in reference to "humanity". The least "PC" portion of the series is right at the opening, including the title "Oriental Heritage". If you're living life in a state of constant, raging offense, maybe leave the series for what to you might be greener, if less enlightening, pastures. You'll be missing out on a lot Western history in its cultural context, and missing out on a truly humanist outlook. And as for the screamers on the other side: Durant is not a prescriptive historian, nor is he a moralist. Imagine the opposite of Jordan Peterson and Niall Ferguson, and you get the idea. Such bias as he exhibits is for Reason over Faith, and if this enrages you, just stay away. Anyway, again, good luck to you on your project!
@andywomack3414
Ай бұрын
Could civilization owe it's existence to the human discovery of evolution?
@funkbungus137
21 күн бұрын
A leading theory among um .. me and my cat.. as to why other hominids died out was their discovery of Lamarckian evolution, leaving ample room for early homo sapiens to eventually give birth to Darwin and exploit their unfortunate folly.
@baarbacoa
Ай бұрын
I'm going to speculate that agriculture evolved along side human social organizational capabilities. And that we've been practicing agriculture for much longer than the period we have evidence for, as people were cultivating wild plants. And that the emergence of agriculture is really just emergence of evolved plant species that humans farm.
@andywomack3414
Ай бұрын
Humans discovered and exploited the driver of evolution -selection.
@shafsteryellow
Ай бұрын
Absolutely mind-blowing period. The successive back to africa migrations leading to north east african agriculture, civilisations and trade through that bidirectional route is remarkable.
@plumahoplita
Ай бұрын
One of the most fascinating things to me, is that the agricultural development started in this interglacial and not Eemian (the previous one)
@WhatsPastisPrologue
Ай бұрын
Yeah it is interesting, I wondered the same thing when I was making the Conditions of Civilization video. I assume that it is because of the geographical spread of the human population at that time.
@andywomack3414
Ай бұрын
Is it possible that previous interglacials did not last long enough for human agricultural development?
@plumahoplita
Ай бұрын
@@andywomack3414 I think that probably men's evolution has not reached the stage being capable of agriculture
@drewankney3989
Ай бұрын
As good as the books!!
@kultus
Ай бұрын
Thank you for another great video.
@DarkLink606
Ай бұрын
The Durant's work of a lifetime is amazing and inspiring, not only by its extension, but the overall quality of the work. It is not perfect, obviously, some information is outdated, in light of more recent discoveries, but it still a good read for those interested in history. It is rich in in information, written in clear English and mostly factual, nearly unbiased. Even where they wrote a particular opinion on an event, it was presented as such, and elaborated with arguments. Will and Ariel had no difficult separating fact for opinion, something present historians struggle with, or have given up altogether. The Durants never sacrificed quality over quantity. Their work isn't perfect, but the authors strived for perfection their whole .
@leolyon2373
Ай бұрын
No time to read? KZitem has this collection on audio. Great reader.
@Cultreviews
Ай бұрын
Keep going 👍
@sharaogilvie993
2 ай бұрын
I've been reading there for 3 years now and am almost finished with volume 5. They are a treasure!!
@blackstarboys4719
2 ай бұрын
We are now the worst species on the planet due to our complete lack of awareness. Yet we think we are in control. Our behaviour is in control not us
@blackstarboys4719
2 ай бұрын
As a part time bow hunter it’s something very spiritual to take an animal. It’s a very personal experience for me and I’m always grateful for the animal and that I’ve taken it’s life. I use everything. That’s my thanks for the animal. To waste is lazy and disrespectful. Plus bow hunting is a game of patience and disappointment. I’ve only just found your channel and I love it. Right up my alley 🇦🇺
@blackstarboys4719
2 ай бұрын
As it’s been said many times ‘ since the fall of Rome we have lost more than we have ever or will ever know’. I’m paraphrasing a very good quote
@blackstarboys4719
2 ай бұрын
It’s interesting that hunters have been shown to carry fire, as in embers in pouches, and I think it’s most probable that they had berry or roots with them as they hunted. I’m a bow hunter and I take these with me and I take a book that if I’m in trouble I can source fruits and other foods growing in the region. If I do why wouldn’t they?!
@muhammadaminnawawibinmohds6620
2 ай бұрын
Very nice
@CommieGobeldygook
2 ай бұрын
Well now you've caught my interest
@fredburns6846
2 ай бұрын
I strongly disagree with the notion that agriculture makes you have more anxiety in regard to your future. You could even argue that farming brings a certain stability or safety that is superior to hunting and gathering
@blackstarboys4719
2 ай бұрын
I would see initially being a farmer something that is very risky due to the thought of ‘you have and I want’ with regards to the nomadic hunter group seeing an easy target in initial farming. It’s an easy meal if you don’t have defences, which came in progressively over decades and centuries. Just my opinion
@fredburns6846
2 ай бұрын
@@blackstarboys4719 sure but i think in this sense the anxiety refered to food security In regards to fear from other humans its hard to say which is preferable If the theory is true, that the reason we started farming is because huntergatherers had "filled out" the available land and the option of moving somewhere less crowded wasnt available, the only option beeing to pull more callories out of a given area using farming, then you would imagine raids were already a concern before we started settling down
@KosmiekAltertainment
18 күн бұрын
I think it is a realization we can have now, but at that time when farming slowly grew in importance, could not so easily. To question a necessity does also not mean you can choose an (or the) alternative. Humans are weaker and quite insecure right now, A lot of reasons for that would not exist without farming. That might be the point here.
@oakfat5178
13 күн бұрын
I worked in a grain-related industry for a decade, and without fail, asking a farmer how life was going brought forth a list of what had gone wrong recently and what might still go wrong. Partly, there are a lot of legitimate variable in farming, but I also felt there was a cultural taboo on boasting of your good fortune when your neighbour may have had a bad year. Possibly there was also a superstitious fear of tempting fate. Everyone should be anxious about what devious trick their grain agents will pull next.
@oakfat5178
13 күн бұрын
@@fredburns6846 What makes you think that explanation is 'true" in any universal sense? It's surely more likely that crop management was arrived at in different circumstances by more than one tribal group. A doco I saw suggested that for some, the tribe would sow the best seeds in the most favourable location, and then check back at the end of the season to harvest what crop had grown there in their absence. Those grains would be found in the same place and time in their nomadic cycle, but there was a chance of a more abundant crop than nature alone would have delivered. The doco suggested it was only 0nce they could rely on sufficient abundance that anyone chose to become sedentary farmers.
@javadahmad4510
2 ай бұрын
Another solid session
@PhilipDee1
2 ай бұрын
Another really engaging lecture. Many thanks. I do feel that Hobbes' attitude to man's life (and by extension, to our hunter-gatherer ancestors) is certainly aligned to the 'pessimistic' philosophy of Arthur Schopenhaur. Another point is regards the idea of our ancient ancestors 'working' only a 20 hour or so week. You did allude to storing up for winter months, but surely to survive many months per year with little vegetation to access would have vexed early man. Their lifestyle was probably less 'leisurely' that your comments suggest. Unless they practiced a form of hibernation, that is.
@kdot78
2 ай бұрын
very nice 👍🏻
@drewankney3989
2 ай бұрын
Legendary!!
@plumahoplita
2 ай бұрын
happy to see a new video!
@kultus
2 ай бұрын
Please be content with the contents of your continents. Otherwise, you may be incontinent.
@kultus
2 ай бұрын
So glad I found you. Also glad to see that this is relatively new. I'm listening to The Reformation and will enjoy all of your input. Do you happen to know if any authors attempted to complete the series, writing in a similar style of the later eras?
@WhatsPastisPrologue
2 ай бұрын
Thanks Kultus. With regards to authors writing in a similar way for the later eras. The first that comes to mind is Eric Hobsbawm's "The Long Nineteenth Century" (1789-1914) series. It was supposed to be a trilogy, but ultimately it became four volumes. Just so you know he wrote from a Maxist perspective, some people may appreciate that, and others not so much. But the one book that I remember thinking was a worthy successor to Durant would be Tony Judt’s “Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945”. Judt was very influential to historians like Timothy Snyder and Anne Applebaum.
@AndrewRossin
2 ай бұрын
I recently found Will Durant and read his The Lessons of History and began The Story of Philosophy. Really cool to see you covering the Story of Civilization series and I hope you continue! Just watched your first two videos
@WhatsPastisPrologue
2 ай бұрын
Thanks Andrew, I hope you contine your fitness and training, have a great day.
@notpub
2 ай бұрын
Do u know if anyone ever attempted to p/u where the Durant's left off?
@WhatsPastisPrologue
2 ай бұрын
Sorry for the late reply Notpub. Somebody else asked me a similar question recently, obviously it is difficult because every writer has their own style. But I do remember reading Tony Judt’s “Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945” and thinking that, just in its scope, it was similar to Durant.
@notpub
2 ай бұрын
Your cat has so much to add-- you must show them off!! Btw, this WAS the best overview I have ever heard on this must-read phenomenal series!!
@conrad4852
3 ай бұрын
I was taught 7 continents in the US with Australia as being one. Interesting that Durant anticipated or or was familiar enough with debates over ice ages the tea correctly picked which side would be the winning side empirically.
@maarten.dejong
3 ай бұрын
No, Nineveh was not the largest city in the world. Please expand your understanding of civilization to North and South America.
@WhatsPastisPrologue
3 ай бұрын
Hello Maarten, which cities in North or South America had a higher population than Ninevah in the 660's BC ?
@conrad4852
3 ай бұрын
Sure looks like Nineveh was a solid candidate for the most populous city circa 660BCE en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_cities_throughout_history
@classiclife7204
Ай бұрын
Cite your source
@PhilipDee1
3 ай бұрын
Another solid video. I wonder: even if you manage to cover one chapter per week, with no breaks, how long this enterprise will take you? Well, I am currently 62, so this project may very well outlast me. I may need to resort to reading these books myself...
@WhatsPastisPrologue
3 ай бұрын
I worked it out before I started, and it's worse than you realise, most of the chapters are broken down into multiple sections. If I cover one section a week (unlikely I can do that) I will be finished on Monday 13th January 2070. There’s something absurd about the project, but why not try. And you should try one of the volumes, give it a hundred pages, if you find you don’t like it you’ve not lost that much.
@plumahoplita
3 ай бұрын
Great start. Just a correction. EPICA is an ice core extraction, there is also Vostok. The temperature is given by the delta of Oxygen Isotope 18. Not from CO2, actually CO2 lags behind the temperature change (but let's skip that detail) This is also validated with the bentic cores from Lisiecki & Ramos 2013.
@teabagger666
3 ай бұрын
Thanks for showing us more of the kitty :) And as the internet is full of niche ideas (in the present) that people analyse and overanalyse, I can’t wait to hear a synthesis of history
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