Quote by Christopher Lasch

We need to distinguish between nostalgia and the reassuring memory of happy times, which serves to link the present to the past and to provide a sense of continuity. The emotional appeal of happy memories does not depend on disparagement of the present, the hallmark of the nostalgic attitude. Nostalgia appeals to the feeling that the past offered delights no longer obtainable. Nostalgic representations of the past evoke a time irretrievably lost and for that reason timeless and unchanging. Strictly speaking, nostalgia does not entail the exercise of memory at all, since the past it idealizes stands outside time, frozen in unchanging perfection. Memory too may idealize the past, but not in order to condemn the present. It draws hope and comfort from the past in order to enrich the present and to face what comes with good cheer.


We need to distinguish between nostalgia and the reassuring

Summary

This quote explains the distinction between nostalgia and the comforting memory of happy times. The memory of happy times links the present to the past, providing a sense of continuity and emotional appeal without belittling the present. Nostalgia, on the other hand, appeals to the idea that the past offered joys that are no longer attainable. It evokes a sense of longing for a lost and unchanging past. While both memory and nostalgia may idealize the past, nostalgia does so to criticize the present, whereas memory draws hope and comfort from the past to enrich the present and face the future optimistically.

Topics

Past
By Christopher Lasch
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