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this post was submitted on 10 Aug 2023
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I hate this saying. It's not explicit, and logical consequence isn't bidirectional, but it implies that those who do remember the past somehow won't repeat it. Which is blatantly false. Many people, even those who intimately know history, want to repeat it. Either because they think material conditions are just different enough to lead to a different result this time, or that the precise way the actions in the past was carried out was subpar and with tiny tweaks it would lead to a different result, etc. I do generally agree with the explicit statement[^1], but I strongly disagree with the implicit statement.
[^1]: And even on the explicit statement I still have reservations. Sometimes material conditions are different enough, or the precise manner in which actions are carried out are different enough that those who know nothing about the past aren't condemned to repeat it: what those who know nothing about the past do is only superficially similar to the past, and can have radically different outcomes.
I appreciate your sentiment but the implication is just not really there, it doesn't express anything about those who do remember the past.
Read my edited footnote. I do not fully agree with the claim itself either.
I think you're taking it too literary. It's a cautionary tale to not keep doing the same mistakes over and over again but instead to learn from the past mistakes of others.