Introduction
Being a human means living through history, the circumstances in which the future cannot be known while the past cannot be amended. Life is unpredictable and may take many twists and turns, while the consequences of the actions being committed are irreversible. However, the connection between the past and future may reverse as conclusions about past events’ impact could be continuously reassessed and reinterpreted. Studying the past allows for forecasts about future possibilities and prospects, mainly because the mistakes people made in the past can repeat themselves if no lesson is learned. While the past lives in the present and can affect decision-making, it significantly influences the future as society makes decisions based on present circumstances and conclusions about the past.
Connecting the Past and Present and Looking Ahead
Studying history means making past events relevant to the present life in terms of the basic skills that the population should possess, the information that should be disseminated, and the teaching methods. The ability to connect the present to the past requires the construction of knowledge and its application to relevant contexts. Individuals can attempt to make sense of the past’s impact and assign applicable meanings to it.
Historical thinking represents one strategy that allows us to link historical events and contemporary developments while envisioning future possibilities. It emphasizes the importance of cognitive processes individuals engage when studying history and using the past for knowledge construction. As noted by Levesque (2009), “to think historically is thus to understand how knowledge has been constructed and what it means” (p. 27). Knowledge and its interpretation are crucial for demonstrating how a person can create meaning from a past event. Consequently, it will aid in giving sense to the notion of historical progression. When society understands where it has been and the direction in which it is heading, it can interpret accounts, identify meanings, and apply the latter to the present.
The study of history allows for consistently placing historical knowledge into structured narratives, which, in turn, can be used to make sense of historical trends to better understand the past, including the impact of social and technological progress and the challenges that affect society. Structured narratives can aid in interpreting the past, which is essential for reaching conclusions, validating ideas, and expanding perspectives. Interpretation concerns the active construction of knowledge and determining meaning on its basis.
There is no right or wrong way of connecting the past, present, and future, as scholarly disciplines may encompass different approaches. Futurology represents a non-deterministic outlook within which society has the agency to have a tangible impact on the future (). Futurologists may often collaborate with businesses, governments, and high-standing institutional actors to determine the plan or vision for the future. This helps to plan and anticipate contingencies, as history teaches that unpredictable events are inevitable. In contrast, a chrono-typical approach, which may be either deterministic or not, entails that the current understanding of the world’s inner workings impacts the understanding of both the past and future.
For instance, within the ethnographic approach to historicity, scholars will study how the views of the past and their connections to the future are constructed based on the cultural impact. An interesting example of this approach was implemented by Hirsh and Moretti (2010), who studied the historical and cultural specificity of notions such as the Universal Past and Universal History. The two terms are coined on the basis of the distinction between Western academic history and other culturally specific historicities (Hirsh & Moretti, 2010). Thus, it can be inferred that making connections between the past and the present and looking into the future is determined by a society’s culture, which is inevitably shaped by its historical background.
Conclusion
To conclude, the past, present, and future are interconnected, and one cannot exist without the others. While history allows for analyzing past actions and seeing how they influence the present, it can also give clues as to where humanity is going, drawing from the lessons of the past. In every culture, the perspectives on interpreting this triad may differ; however, what unites all populations throughout the globe is that their current reality is shaped by their history and the actions of their ancestors. Today, when the Western world continues making the same mistakes made in the twentieth century, it is important to take into account how current actions will affect the lives of future generations.
References
Hirsch, E., & Moretti, D. (2010). “One past and many pasts: Varieties of historical holism in Melanesia and the West.” In T. Otto and N. Bubandt (Eds.) Experiments in holism: Theory and practice in contemporary anthropology (pp. 279–298). Wiley-Blackwell.
Levesque, S. (2009). Thinking historically: Educating students for the 21st century. University of Toronto Press.