Yesterday I read this tweet by Balaji Srinivasan, technologist and angel investor: The plain meaning of the tweet is obvious, but the existential (and philosophical) meaning is anything but. I’m thinking here of Heidegger, who describes the past not as something objective, but as that which “throws us” into the present moment. On that operational definition, it is impossible to live in the past or even to visit it. Or Husserl, who compares the experience of memory to that of hearing the first note in a musical phrase. Once heard, it will never be the same. You would have to unlearn the subsequent notes to hear the first note as it transpired.
Should We Look Forward to Living in the Past?
Should We Look Forward to Living in the Past?
Should We Look Forward to Living in the Past?
Yesterday I read this tweet by Balaji Srinivasan, technologist and angel investor: The plain meaning of the tweet is obvious, but the existential (and philosophical) meaning is anything but. I’m thinking here of Heidegger, who describes the past not as something objective, but as that which “throws us” into the present moment. On that operational definition, it is impossible to live in the past or even to visit it. Or Husserl, who compares the experience of memory to that of hearing the first note in a musical phrase. Once heard, it will never be the same. You would have to unlearn the subsequent notes to hear the first note as it transpired.