A philosophical inquiry into the future as a category of historical time

Abstract

The significance of future as a category of historical time necessarily refers to the classical Koselleck′s study about the origins of history as Geschichte. Indeed, history proper is only possible when the time is released from the divine power, then history appears as the result of the human actions. This idea reformulates a Kantian thesis about the plan of history. As it is known, according to Kant history has a meaning and a direction but this cannot put at risk the freedom of humans as moral agents. The future plays here a main role because it allows thinking about the progress of mankind as a regulative ideal. The concept of hope is its necessarily counterpart. In the realm of practical reason the hope works as the basis for our belief in a better world caused by our collaboration (when the good and the virtue go together). In history, this hope is expressed through the expectation of perpetual peace. It is obvious that the future cannot be an object of history because to talk about it would be to make prophecies (as Danto says). But it can be said that without future there is not history in its proper sense. Our aim here is to analyze the role of future as a component of historical consciousness and consequently to show its importance to understand why the human groups build their memories as a legacy for the next generations. In order to do this I intend to identify the political aspects of the hope displayed when the communities seek to conform and keep their collective memory as a heritage to leave for future generations.