The present has its elan because it is always on the edge of the unknown and one misunderstands the past unless one remembers that this unknown was once part of its nature.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The present feels dynamic because it faces the unknown, just as the past did at its time.
- In plain terms
- We forget the past was also uncertain and new.
- What can you take from it?
- Remember the past was as uncertain as today is.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What did people fear in the past?
- How does uncertainty shape you?
Another view
It simplifies historical determinism.
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