To start off, I need to admit that I am a history buff. I love reading about and finding out things of and from the past. I also know that history is and always will be a contentious issue. It always seems that history is fluid and changes constantly depending on the person or source. But as much as I love history, I don't hold it in reverence. This is pretty much the focus of this article: how history is important to human growth but not the end result. The reason for writing this article is for me to articulate my view of history, and also to help some of my students who are writing about issues that might be related to how history affects societies, culture and about moving forward.
There is this saying "The journey is more important than the destination". This could not be more apt to describe the concept of history. There are a lot of definitions of history; there are many a book that look at the concept of history. There have been movements that attempt to reject history i.e. the Futurists. There have been parties that revere anything historical and would fight to keep it intact. Herein lies the problem. A lot of people view history as the 'finished article'; and nothing can or should be changed. This included architecture, fashion, culture, beliefs etc. Let me explain what I mean by this by using architecture as an example. For a lot of people, a certain type of architecture or building becomes synonymous with their identity. A historical building for example. This building is usually a relic of past cultures and is often considered a heritage. Most of the people will feel that this historical building represents them and should always stay the same. Any changes made to this architectural type will be considered as some form of heresy. This group of people will feel that this building, built and designed by their ancestors to fulfill very specific functions, is the finished article. This means to say, all buildings thereafter should follow that same ‘template’ regardless of any extenuating circumstances. This is evident in Malaysia, where we constantly feel the need to borrow and copy from past architectures.
Some time ago, I gave a lecture on the negative aspects of revering history. The over-reverence of history resulted in cultures and societies becoming counter-productive and stagnating. History became a crutch; as they viewed what they did as the height of their achievement and thus could grow no more. And that, is my main contention with how people view history. If we think we have reached the top of the mountain, then there is nowhere else to go but down. If we view the achievements of our ancestors as the pinnacle of our culture, then we are also doomed to forever stand still. Ironically, this stems from humanity’s fear of change and evolution. There is this need in us to ‘contain’ change, and sometimes to stop it from happening. I suppose this is linked to our baser survival instincts.
The idea of learning from history DOES NOT mean we should follow and copy it. If we view what happened in the past as something that has brought us to where we are now, and NOT the end of the journey, then the future and its possibilities are limitless. This is due to our ability to imagine and create. Imagination and creativity is what separates us from other animals. The power to imagine what we want and to shape it into reality has what made us the dominant species on this planet. The virtues also made it possible for us to shape the environment to our needs. The idea of evolution is that of something that is constantly changing and adapting for the better. The idea of standing still, as to how most people view history, goes against everything natural. Nature evolves. Cultures evolve. Religions evolve. Cities evolve. Constantly trying to hold on to the past will disable us from adapting to new challenges; and thus develop new ideas.
Being progressive does not mean abandoning your roots or history. It is these roots and history that has enabled us to branch out this far into human evolution. Progressive thinking has enabled us to solve the myriad of issues that has plagued humanity since the dawn of time. Without progressive thinking, man would not have had the thought and courage to leave the cave; or would it have enabled us to discover fire and the so many other technological advancements since then.
So as designers, we should be at the forefront of progressive thinking; finding the new technologies and ways to solve problems old and new. The boundaries have been set by history, and it is only natural for us to break them. We can look backwards and forwards at the same time. But we need not anchor ourselves to our past.
History is there for reference, not for reverence.
