History of Ideas: From limiting memory to limitless potentials

I was never a good student of History subject. Particularly because I was never good at memorizing names, years and events. Could it because of the 'Behaviorist' way ( i.e the rote-learning method and what not) that the subject was thought back then, that somehow had made the subject not so 'learner-friendly' to me? Or could it be because of the 'fragmented' information that we had to remember that after frequent attempts to avoid 'mixing' and 'matching' the wrong people to the wrong events or to the wrong dates, that I finally gave up all attempts in memorizing them? Frankly, I have a strong feeling that the reasons were actually, both. So, if anybody were to ask me questions regarding historic events happening both in the local and non-local settings, I must admit that my answer would be 'vague' to them as their questions are to me.

But, a comment made by Annabel ('thank you'), on one of my posts 'forced' me to reflect on my cognitive preference regarding this particular subject. It was then that I realized for the first time that I actually had strong interests to reflect on things happening in the past and how they actually provide clear insights to the understanding of events happening at our present time. In fact, having this vivid link between the past and the present situations as inputs to our 'mental model' ( I believe the concept actually is as an expansion  or further explanation to Piaget's  concept of  'schemata'), allows us to anticipate  events happening in future time .

Of course, I am no 'Nostradamus' who could predict the future, but I believe we are all familiar with this famous saying, that : "History repeats itself". Ironically, it is always the MISTAKE that gets repeated; seldom is the success. Still, it is not impossible to achieve future success. Perhaps, we should try and change our 'traditional' approach. Rather than 'reflecting' on the past as guidance for the right solution to present problem in contemplation of better future (i.e REACTIVE), I believe that we should 'fore-reflect' of future success instead, for example, by analyzing present situations in comparison to past happenings ( a bit PROACTIVE,  don't you think?).

And this is because I realize that upon reflecting on 'history', it was actually the IDEA or the thinking that has led to such events occurring which actually caught my interest. This explains why I am able to link the past and present events; i.e. because of the IDEA.  Not the names; not the places; not the dates. The simple fact is that Idea actually LIVES on and 'TRANSFORMS' itself  so that it could be well-accommodated with the context it is situated in. It transcends the barriers of SETTING; i.e. time and place.

This means that in different periods of time, it  takes on different 'forms', although the 'substance' remains the same. It employs different names, occupies different place, and manifests different behaviors.  Yet, the similar 'substance' could never escape the critical minds, though the different 'form' could easily fool the unsuspecting ones. I believe many 'critical' strategists think the same and welcome the 'challenge' of unearthing this 'subtle' manifestation of ideas.

On a personal note, I strongly believe that Louis Althusser had had this 'sense' when he introduced the concept of 'Ideological State Apparatus' (ISA; eg. means of communication, etc.), as a 'tool' to disseminate certain 'idea' as it is an easy way to 'promote a certain societal conditioning through natural ways of seeing the world'. And I also believe that Antonio Gramsci had had a similar sense when he conceptualized the term 'hegemony'; i.e the dissemination of ideas by making alliance with the target group. Well, these are two different forms, I believe substantial ideas could be disseminated.

Let me share with you one example of a great 'History of ideas on woman', where ideas are realized through different forms in history. Actually, it is the title of a book by Rosemary Agonito(1977). Nevertheless, before I proceed , let me assert here that I am no feminist and also not against one. However, that simple fact does not stop me from 'admiring' the great thoughts of Mary Wollstonecraft, whose radical views made her both famous and infamous in her days. Her strong views advocating the equality of sexes, in fact, has the 'power' to lift  the spirit  of women that consequentially (i.e after a gap of a 'century') they became the doctrine of woman's movement.

According to her, men attempt 'to secure the good conduct of women by attempting to keep them always in a state of childhood' and that 'women are told from their infancy, and taught by example of their mothers' that they need a man to support them. Well, if we reflect on the period she lived and the society she belonged to, we could easily see how the context she was in had shaped her  social beliefs. But, what I like to point out is the ideas: (i) to secure good conduct by keeping them always in a state of childhood; (ii) told from their infancy, and taught by example. These are IDEAS that actually live on, although the context may be different.

I remember the 'traditional' Malay ways in which most of the present older generation was being brought up. Back then, it was a 'closed' society. The elders were highly respected and there was a clear gap between the young and old generation. I also remember that children were often being reprimanded by their mothers every time they tried to interfere with 'adult' matters. At times, they were given 'sweets' to distract their attention or to keep them occupied when the adults have urgent matters to attend to and did not want to be disturbed. So, you see, the ideas live on regardless of the context.

We are not free from our past memory, and in fact, should not be so as the previous knowledge still has its relevance in the current context. However, as society evolves, the past knowledge may reappear in different forms. Therefore, I strongly agree with Drucker when he asserts that  "Post-capitalist society needs the educated person even more than any previous society did, and access to the great heritage of the past will have to be an essential element".  Maybe then could we identify the real 'substance' being subtly hidden in various forms or to recognize that the outer forms may not necessarily indicate the inner substance. And also maybe, we could, as noted by Drucker; "identify the future that has already happened",  so that we could adjust our behaviors accordingly in our attempt to create new realities.

To this existing 'paradox', a friend exclaimed : "My God, how could I be sure that I'm not SLEEPING with an ENEMY?!". Well, I believe, if all else fails (i.e. quantitative and qualitative ways), just rely on your hunches, then. So, to all my female readers( especially to Annabel ),do not take for granted of the significance of our past experiences; though limited they may be. Instead, lets share our 'limiting memory' so that we could reflect on them and to transform them to become our 'limitless potentials'. Last but not least, thank you again, Annabel, for the sharing of provoking INSIGHTFUL idea.