Memory is used in very different ways by two of the most prevalent views on history. These two views are the progressive view of history and the cyclical view of history.
The philosophy of progress views history as a continuous process of gradual refinement of the human being to the point where he becomes God-like over many thousands or millions of years. So human history in the progressive philosopher’s view is like an ever-ascending staircase leading human beings step by step over thousands or millions of years, gradually purging themselves of all weaknesses until they reach ultimate perfection.
The cyclical view of history regards it as a series of cycles of similar if not identical nature within a greater cycle of cosmic birth, growth and death.
Progressives deal with history very differently from cyclicists; for them, what is past is past and people can transform themselves like a butterfly from a caterpillar.
So creatures and people can change over time from one form to a totally different one, and thus need take no responsibility for actions they took while in a different, less evolved stage. Thus a butterfly has nothing to learn from its caterpillar stage. The butterfly is too busy contemplating its next stage of its development — say, the ability to break the sound barrier or the ability to fly high above storm clouds (until a little bird gobbles up the foolish butterfly).
The cyclicists however know that people are, were and will always be fundamentally the same, no matter how many millennia pass. Their hopes and fears, envy and generosity, courage and cowardice, love and hate are the same century after century.
“Plus ca change plus c’est la meme chose.”
Therefore the study of history for them is important in order to define those general rules that govern human history over time and to derive wisdom from such observations.
Conversely, progressives see little value in the study of history except the hope to predict the next step up the evolutionary ladder. So this view is constantly looking forward and contemplating the future.
The problem with this view is that it imposes upon it adherents a belief in the lack of responsibility for actions taken in the past, like the butterfly, which cannot be held responsible for its actions as a caterpillar. We therefore often hear them say, “Oh that was in the past, but now...” as if to say we are not responsible for what our less-evolved ancestors did.
This, of course, is nonsense. We see them repeating the same mistakes of their ancestors over and over again, and so they cultivate the talent of forgetfulness. Only those who do not remember can ignore and deny the past.
This way the progressives can blithely continue in their beliefs and ignore the reality that, despite their claims, they have not evolved at all. This also explains to a certain extent their disdain for the elderly among them, because they are a constant reminder of a past they wish to forget and a future they wish to ignore.
Those who believe in the cyclical nature of history, however, think that history repeats itself one way or another and that the cosmos is ultimately headed for extinction. They remember the past not to glorify it or to dwell upon it, but in order to try to learn from it how to deal with the current stage of their history.
They try, through the study of history, to derive the wisdom necessary to bring themselves into harmony with the cycle of the cosmos within which they believe true happiness resides.
Arab News Opinion 4 May 2003
