Human Identity and Historical Knowledge

Human identity is constitutively ‘historical’, as well as cultural and a narrative. History is the quintessence of us, as human beings that live in a certain epoch and within a certain culture. But because of the fact that this formation and configuration of our personal identity is rooted in historical, psychological and linguistic (Steiner) mechanisms of representation, then by modifying certain representational axes (i.e., modifying culture, narration, lifestyle practices…) not only may we modify the meaning and representation of our past, but we may act in some way more free from it. This does not represent a denial of the role of the past but an aspect which must be considered and investigated, examining the challenges represented by the realisation of a life which is, on one hand, in a dialectical connection with the past and tradition, and which is, on the other hand, a form of action under a horizon of expectation (Koselleck) and a present full of new possibilities (Ricoeur). Referring to Koselleck’s research, Ricoeur develops the theme of historical consciousness, interpreting it as the ceaseless dialectics of counterposition between the ‘space of experience’, which is inevitably rooted into the past, and the ‘horizon of expectation’, which always addresses the future. A living present culture constitutes the point of convergence between past and future, because in the human being there is this perpetual connection between ‘space of experience’ and ‘horizon of expectation’, between memory and hope. This paper aims to explore the consequences of such a vision for an anthropological philosophy.