01-15-2002, 08:47 AM
Vey good points, my gothic friend.<br>
I was just being blunt, as my usual, to start an arguement. I love arguments. Anyway, the "cause and effect" approach is, in general, very difficult to apply to history. But we all naturally look for mechanisms and models. The difficulty of finding the right ones to describe history is what makes history so fun. Everyone can have something interesting to say and add to the complicated picture. In particular, in the spiraling downfall of Rome there were all kinds of feedback effects. The settling of kingdoms was certainly due to a drop of roman internal pressure. The "barbarians" occupied a vacuum. But once the "kingdoms" were in place their presence accelerated further the western down fall. In this very limited sense they were one of the "causes" of the downfall. The sudden transition from a slow but inevitable decline to a rapid downfall is what impresses so many and why the "cause and effect" approach seems so attractive. But with a little effort and further thought, deeper understanding can be obtained. <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub45.ezboard.com/ugoffredo.showPublicProfile?language=EN>goffredo</A> at: 1/15/02 6:12:26 pm<br></i>
I was just being blunt, as my usual, to start an arguement. I love arguments. Anyway, the "cause and effect" approach is, in general, very difficult to apply to history. But we all naturally look for mechanisms and models. The difficulty of finding the right ones to describe history is what makes history so fun. Everyone can have something interesting to say and add to the complicated picture. In particular, in the spiraling downfall of Rome there were all kinds of feedback effects. The settling of kingdoms was certainly due to a drop of roman internal pressure. The "barbarians" occupied a vacuum. But once the "kingdoms" were in place their presence accelerated further the western down fall. In this very limited sense they were one of the "causes" of the downfall. The sudden transition from a slow but inevitable decline to a rapid downfall is what impresses so many and why the "cause and effect" approach seems so attractive. But with a little effort and further thought, deeper understanding can be obtained. <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub45.ezboard.com/ugoffredo.showPublicProfile?language=EN>goffredo</A> at: 1/15/02 6:12:26 pm<br></i>
Jeffery Wyss
"Si vos es non secui of solutio tunc vos es secui of preciptate."
"Si vos es non secui of solutio tunc vos es secui of preciptate."
