5.1.1 Historical Barriers

In the historical sense, the following examples might give reason for an individual or a society not to attempt the new, to seek another solution, to find a better way. From the ancient Greeks, for example, there was Plato maintaining that history repeats itself. He wrote so convincingly of the circles of civilizations repeating themselves that to many it has seemed futile to attempt any changes. Plato's concept would have us be totally fatalistic and powerless as individuals and as societies.

These are but a few examples of historical significance to illustrate external dominance over human thought. It is technological advances, in the recent past and in the present that leave average people feeling that they have little, if any, control over their own lives.