When it comes to what defines and shapes our relationships—what forms the fabric of the social world and its systems—ideas matter. If we want to understand why one culture embraces better philosophical ideas, or produces greater artistic achievements, or falls into greater dysfunction than another, we must examine the origins of its ideas. This is why history is so fascinating – why books on ancient Rome and Greece so often top non-fiction lists. Our enduring interest in these civilisations, and the many others who have shaped history, reflects a deeper impulse – the recognition that understanding the past is essential to making sense of the present. To meaningfully critique one’s own culture, or ongoing cultural patterns, one must first understand the historical origins of its ideas.

In most cases, our cultural conflicts are rarely new; they are echoes of past struggles, shaped by ideas that have evolved over time. Contemporary debates about free speech often evoke Socrates’, not as an academic exercise but because history has already taught the lesson. Understanding that even those with whom we strongly disagree should be free to speak and challenge established ideas is central to Socrates’ story. The debate about the parameters of free speech have carried forward from ancient Greece and continued through figures like John Stuart Mill, perhaps evolving in some sense, but whilst maintaining a remarkable continuity.

As another example, consider the ongoing debates about democracy and governance. Many assume that our modern political structures are self-evident or inevitable, yet they are the product of centuries of philosophical and historical struggle in a chaotic world of competing ideas. The tensions between liberty and authority, individual rights and collective stability, were as central to the debates in ancient Athens and the Roman Republic as they are today. Recognising these historical precedents helps us see that our political conflicts are not isolated or unprecedented but part of a long and evolving conversation about how societies should be governed.

Despite vast differences in technology, culture, and political structures, I never find it any less astonishing how people in the past wrestled with many of the same fundamental issues we do today. The roots of many modern ideas run deep. It’s astonishing because history can seem so distant and fixed, yet when we recognise its relatability, the gap to the present collapses. Ancient, medieval, modern – these are merely artificial chronological divisions, useful for study but ultimately arbitrary. Instead of a series of disconnected eras, history is much more like a continuous flow, where discrete events serve as nodes on some unbroken continuum. The consistency is obviously the human element. But I think it is the fabric of ideas that really stitches everything together, forming the foundation upon which every action and reaction shapes the conceptual landscape of each new day’s philosophy and politics.

*Cover image generated by Dall-E.