ABSTRACT

The only form in which the future presents itself to us is that of possibility, while the imperative, the “should,” tells us which of these possibilities we should choose. As regards knowledge, the future—in so far as we are not concerned with the purely organized and rationalized part of it—presents itself as an impenetrable medium, an unyielding wall. And when our attempts to see through it are repulsed, we first become aware of the necessity of willfully choosing our course and, in close connection with it, the need for an imperative (a utopia) to drive us onward. Only when we know what are the interests and imperatives involved are we in a position to inquire into the possibilities of the present situation, and thus to gain our first insights into history.