the McCrareyist approach to history

John McCrarey has, many times, said something similar:

For it is an excellent thing to be able to use the ignorant mistakes of others as warning examples for the correction of error, and, when we confront the varied vicissitudes of life, instead of having to investigate what is being done now, to be able to imitate the successes which have been achieved in the past. Certainly all men prefer in their counsels the oldest men to those who are younger, because of the experience which has accrued to the former through the lapse of time; but it is a fact that such experience is in so far surpassed by the understanding which is gained from history, as history excels, we know, in the multitude of facts at its disposal. For this reason one may hold that the acquisition of a knowledge of history is of the greatest utility for every conceivable circumstance of life.

Of course, knowledge of history is not enough; that's merely the what of history, the brute facts. One must also understand the why of history, the interconnected causes and reasons, and most of all, there must be the will to apply that knowledge and understanding. Without that will, all the knowledge and understanding in the world is useless.