The challenge of reason. Manifesto for the renewal of history

Abstract

History, says the author, is the extension of the homo sapiens biological evolution by other means. This point of view contributes to the theoretical foundations for an environmental history, one which shoud be like an indivisible cloth in which all human activies are interwoven. This should lead to examine -throughout history- the conflict or tension betwen, on one side, the forces responsable for the transformation of the homo sapiens since the neolithics to humanity on the nuclear era, and on the other, the forces that keep the reproduction and stability of human groups and their social means unchanged; forces that during most of history have efficaciously counterbalanced. Furthermore, proposes that marxist historians, who did not understand the undesired and involuntary consequences of the colective human projects along the twentieth century, might this time, enrichened by their practical experience, help to understand how we have reached this present situation, and help to come out with the best means to face this situation in such a way that it can efectively contribute to the development of our species in harmony witht he rest of the natural world.