--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Those who do not remember the past are…" description: "\"Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.\" — George Santayana" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff4/george-santayana-478_history_those-who-do-not-remember-the-past-are-c_1439546.png" --- # Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat… ![“Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” quote by George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff4/george-santayana-478_history_those-who-do-not-remember-the-past-are-c_1439546.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff4/george-santayana-478_history_those-who-do-not-remember-the-past-are-c_1439546.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff4/george-santayana-478_history_those-who-do-not-remember-the-past-are-c_1439546.png) > “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Neglecting history leads to repeating its mistakes, as lessons remain unlearned. **In simple terms:** Ignoring history repeats mistakes. Key Takeaway Study past to avoid future errors. Themes history learning mistakes Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - policy making - education - personal reflection Key Concepts philosophy education memory Questions to Reflect On - What historical lesson is most relevant today? - How can societies ensure lessons are remembered? A Different Perspective Past lessons may be misinterpreted or ignored. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Condemned Repeat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/condemned-repeat-432114/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Past Condemned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-condemned-432113/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Remember Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember-past/) [Repeat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repeat/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/those-who-cannot-remember-the-past-are-condemned-to-repeat-it/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it without a sense of ironic futility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/those-who-cannot-remember-the-past-are-condemned-to-repeat-it-without/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/those-who-forget-the-past-are-condemned-to-repeat-it/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Because supposedly those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/because-supposedly-those-who-forget-the-past-are-condemned-to-repeat/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“There's an old saying about those who cannot remember the past being condemned to repeat it. But those of us who refuse to forget…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-thorne/there-s-an-old-saying-about-those-who-cannot-remember-the-past-being/) [Emily Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-thorne/) > [“Those who do not know the past are condemned to repeat it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-w-wiersbe/those-who-do-not-know-the-past-are-condemned-to-repeat-it/) [Warren W. Wiersbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-w-wiersbe/) > [“Those who do not learn the lessons of the past are condemned to repeat it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/those-who-do-not-learn-the-lessons-of-the-past-are-condemned-to/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Those who do not remember the past are condemned to relive it. —Santayana”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-l-shirer/those-who-do-not-remember-the-past-are-condemned-to-relive-it/) [William L. Shirer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-l-shirer/) > [Those who don't remember the past are condemned to repeat the eleventh grade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-w-loewen/those-who-don-t-remember-the-past-are-condemned-to-repeat-the/) [James W. Loewen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-w-loewen/) > [He who cannot remember the past is condemned to remember the past. Or something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/he-who-cannot-remember-the-past-is-condemned-to-remember-the-past-or/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to compute it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/those-who-cannot-remember-the-past-are-condemned-to-compute-it/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [You know that old phrase ‘Those who don’t remember the past are condemned to repeat it’? Well, I think those who remember the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/you-know-that-old-phrase-those-who-don-t-remember-the-past-are/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Santayana's aphorism must be reversed: too often it is those who can remember the past who are condemned to repeat it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/santayana-s-aphorism-must-be-reversed-too-often-it-is-those-who-can/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Those who cannot remember the pastare condemned to repeat it. or: Those who have never heard of good system development practice are condemned to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/those-who-cannot-remember-the-pastare-condemned-to-repeat-it-or-those/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Even if we remember the past, odds are good we'll still repeat it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-gavriel-kay/even-if-we-remember-the-past-odds-are-good-we-ll-still-repeat-it/) [Guy Gavriel Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-gavriel-kay/) ## More by George Santayana > [Perhaps the universe is nothing but an equilibrium of idiocies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/perhaps-the-universe-is-nothing-but-an-equilibrium-of-idiocies/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [The combative instinct is a savage prompting by which one man's good is found in another's evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-combative-instinct-is-a-savage-prompting-by-which-one-man-s-good/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Sanctity and genius are as rebellious as vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/sanctity-and-genius-are-as-rebellious-as-vice/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [To attempt to be religious without practicing a specific religion is as possible as attempting to speak without a specific language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/to-attempt-to-be-religious-without-practicing-a-specific-religion-is/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [“The contemporary world has turned its back on the attempt and even on the desire to live reasonably.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-contemporary-world-has-turned-its-back-on-the-attempt-and-even-on/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [The pride of the artisan in his art and its uses is pride in himself...It is in his skill and ability to make things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-pride-of-the-artisan-in-his-art-and-its-uses-is-pride-in-himself/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [If pain could have cured us we should long ago have been saved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/if-pain-could-have-cured-us-we-should-long-ago-have-been-saved/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Towers in a modern town are a frill and a survival; they seem like the raised hands of the various churches, afraid of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/towers-in-a-modern-town-are-a-frill-and-a-survival-they-seem-like-the/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Wealth, religion, military victory have more rhetorical than efficacious worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/wealth-religion-military-victory-have-more-rhetorical-than/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Whoever it was who searched the heavens with a telescope and found no God would not have found the human mind if he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/whoever-it-was-who-searched-the-heavens-with-a-telescope-and-found-no/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [It is easier to make a saint out of a libertine than out of a prig.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/it-is-easier-to-make-a-saint-out-of-a-libertine-than-out-of-a-prig/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Experience is a mere whiff or rumble, produced by enormously complex and ill-deciphered causes of experience; and in the other direction, experience is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/experience-is-a-mere-whiff-or-rumble-produced-by-enormously-complex/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Miracles are propitious accidents, the natural causes of which are too complicated to be readily understood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/miracles-are-propitious-accidents-the-natural-causes-of-which-are-too/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Memory itself is an internal rumour; and when to this hearsay within the mind we add the falsified echoes that reach us from others,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/memory-itself-is-an-internal-rumour-and-when-to-this-hearsay-within/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Familiarity breeds contempt only when it breeds inattention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/familiarity-breeds-contempt-only-when-it-breeds-inattention/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) [Explore all 530 George Santayana quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The NBA is my history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-hardaway/the-nba-is-my-history/) [Penny Hardaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-hardaway/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) [C-DASH](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-dash/) > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Santayana" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/those-who-do-not-remember-the-past-are-condemned-to-repeat-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "History" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/those-who-do-not-remember-the-past-are-condemned-to-repeat-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff4/george-santayana-478_history_those-who-do-not-remember-the-past-are-c_1439546.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff4/george-santayana-478_history_those-who-do-not-remember-the-past-are-c_1439546.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff4/george-santayana-478_history_those-who-do-not-remember-the-past-are-c_1439546.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” — George Santayana", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "George Santayana", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Those who do not remember the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/those-who-do-not-remember-the-past-are-condemned-to-repeat-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/those-who-do-not-remember-the-past-are-condemned-to-repeat-it/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```