Is pretending the past doesn't exist as bad as living in it? (philosophy)?

Answer 1

No. It is bad, but less bad. Allow me to demonstrate.

You are crossing a street. Do you want to cross when traffic was stopped ten minutes ago, or do you want to cross when the traffic is stopped now?

Living in the past is IGNORING THE PRESENT. This is ridiculously dangerous, and at the least rather unproductive.

On the other hand, ignoring the past is not too good either. But it is LESS bad because whatever you did in the past, you at least survived, so presumably even if you repeat your mistakes you are likely to survive again. You are not likely to learn and progress any better than the present-ignorer, but it is less overtly detrimental.

So ignoring the past is bad, but ignoring the present is far worse.

Answer 2

Pretending past doesnt exist would mean pretending present does exist. That only presnt exists. Well that is kind of tru. Every day is or was or will be present. But every day cannot be past.
Living in the past sounds like.. a person is unwilling to change. Of course, it's important that we change with time. Be modernised, etc. Living in the the past will never be helpful. Of course we may carry the memories, still. People or traditions of the past hav a dirty knack for being very intolerant. Snap out of it. The world is changing, and you must change with it.
Even Charles Darwin's evolution theory suggests that those who do not adapt to the changes will be extinct (or something like that).
A person clinging to the past can be broody, inactive, quick-tempered, etc.
So I think pretending past doesnt exist is better.

Remember the past, live in the present, live for the future.

Answer 3

My past, in my understanding, is a dynamic entity, and an ongoing process into my life, something that keeps changing in time with age. As I grow older and learn more about myself and the world I live in, I understand better things of my past. Sometimes, I see a better reason for not being able to do something, while some other times I find out, with experience, that what I did and have been blowing my trumpets for, has actually been somethings of an ordinary nature, nothing special. I feel the past changes as we change in time. And when I do something to the best of my satisfaction I realise that similar instances in the past light up, and the other way round. So, my past then changes this way too in my present.

But all this is possible when I accept my past, as it might appear at a time. Philosophically speaking if I want to change my past I need to be my past as well as my present. I know that I am just because I am not what I was, but whatever I am is due to what I was. I accept the past as half of my my reason to be, whereas the other half of my hope for the future.

But If I deny, or pretend, that my past does not exist then it will always be out of the reach of my present; it will never change into present, into my being that is now.

This is true that 'pretending the past doesn't exist as bad as living in' as past should live in me not the other way round. Thanks!

Answer 4

I think some people missed the point. Living in the past means that you have not moved forward to today. Pretending that it does not exist means that you are living today without learning anything from the past.

My sister pretends it doesn't exist. She has perfected a way of just ignoring it (at least on the outside).

Both are not a healthy way to live.

Answer 5

the past doesn't exist except in the mind.
we can imagine the past, but this only ever happens, like all phenomena, in the present.

however, the illusion of past and future is so strong, that for most of us, it is a practical reality.
so to pretend it doesn't exist is to compound one common ignorance with another.
most of us are living from our conditioned patterns, which could be described as living in the past. this is the common human condition.

so I would say that it is better to live in the past than to pretend it does not exist, but this is a marginal and rather pointless distinction between degrees of ignorance.

far more relevant and important is to begin to bring awareness out of the mind, where past and future dwell, into the present, and discover our eternal prescence.

Answer 6

Yes it is. Although a person is not dwelling in it like someone who is living in their past, he/she still has some unresolved issues if they're ignoring it or pretending that it doesn't exist. Facing and accepting the past is the only way to move on and go forward. Ignoring it, or living in it only bring up past issues causing problems in the present/future.

Answer 7

No, pretending the past does not exist is as bad as pretending present time does not really exist.

Answer 8

In the present the past is no more than a once vivid illusion. It is the essence of the truth thas once was. There is no escaping from the past nor escaping from the truth.

As human beings we must come to terms with the truth of our past. Pretending that the past does not exist only guarantees the same mistakes created earlier to happen in the distant future.The past does provide answers for questions and it is useful in order for us to understand the near future. Without the past there would be no advancement into the future.

While saying that the past IS useful and one must learn from it we must not lie in the past as it is essential for us to advance to the future. We can not learn from the past if we continue to consider it our present. Living in the past only proves that we are in denial and refuse to accept our future.
Nothing can come from being in denial.

Pretending the past doesn't exist and living in the past means that we are unsure of the consequences that our past has revealed upon us and we fail to build our future from our past whether it is was once better or worse.

In any case we must live one day at a time and build from the knowledge of our past

Answer 9

The entire premise behind the question is false.
I prefer the live in a happy past than in an unhappy present. It is actually a great choice. Of course the converse is obvious, that I would prefer to live in a happy present than an unhappy past. That is why the suer is usually the loser whether he wins or loses the court case.

Answer 10

The past is an illusion. It does not exist. It never has.
There has never been anything but NOW at any time.

Living in the past is just the stale repetition of outworn memories.
You become the victim of the memories of that past, and your tormentor today is your own self, left over from just another yesterday.

It is best to avoid the whole matter and proceed with the present.

"Time and space are modes in which we think and not conditions in which we live".
-Albert Einstein

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