--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The present still holds on to the…" description: "\"“The present still holds on to the immediate past without positing it as an object, and since the immediate past similarly holds its immediate predeces..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/maurice-merleau-ponty-2834_past-time_the-present-still-holds-on-to-the-immedi_2192099.jpg" --- # The present still holds on to the immediate past without… ![“The present still holds on to the immediate past without positing it as an object, and since the immediate past similarly holds its immediate predecessor, past time is wholly collected up and grasped in the present. The same is true of the imminent future which will also have its horizon of…” quote by Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/maurice-merleau-ponty-2834_past-time_the-present-still-holds-on-to-the-immedi_2192099.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/maurice-merleau-ponty-2834_past-time_the-present-still-holds-on-to-the-immedi_2192099.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/maurice-merleau-ponty-2834_past-time_the-present-still-holds-on-to-the-immedi_2192099.jpg) > ““The present still holds on to the immediate past without positing it as an object, and since the immediate past similarly holds its immediate predecessor, past time is wholly collected up and grasped in the present. The same is true of the imminent future which will also have its horizon of imminence. But with my immediate past I have also the horizon of futurity which surrounded it, and thus I have my actual present seen as the future of that past. With the imminent future, I have the horizon of the past which will surround it, and therefore my actual present as the past of that future. Thus, through the double horizon of retention and protention, my present may cease to be a factual present quickly carried away and abolished by the flow of duration, and become a fixed and identifiable point in objective time. But, once more, my human gaze never posits more than one facet of the object, even though by means of horizons it is directed towards all the others. It can never come up against previous appearances or those presented to other people otherwise than through the intermediary of time and language. If I conceive in the image of my own gaze those others which, converging from all directions, explore every corner of the house and define it, I have still only a harmonious and indefinite set of views of the object, but not the object in its plenitude. In the same way, although my present draws into itself time past and time to come, it possesses them only in intention, and even if, for example, the consciousness of my past which I now have seems to me to cover exactly the past as it was, the past which I claim to recapture is not the real past, but my past as I now see it, perhaps after altering it. Similarly in the future I may have a mistaken idea about the present which I now experience. Thus the synthesis of horizons is no more than a presumptive synthesis, operating with certainty and precision only in the immediate vicinity of the object. The remoter surrounding is no longer within my grasp; it is no longer composed of still discernible objects or memories; it is an anonymous horizon now incapable of bringing any precise testimony, and leaving the object as incomplete and open as it is indeed, in perceptual experience. Through this opening, indeed, the substantiality of the object slips away.”” [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our experience of time blends past, present, and future, but each is filtered through perception, making true objectivity impossible. **In simple terms:** We perceive time as a mix of memory and expectation, never fully objective. Key Takeaway Recognize the limits of our perspective. Themes philosophy time perception ontology epistemology Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - everyday decision making - historical analysis - future planning - creative writing Key Concepts horizon theory retention protention subjectivity Questions to Reflect On - In what ways does your memory shape current choices? - How might future expectations bias present actions? A Different Perspective Our mental models can misrepresent reality, leading to errors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [How can the past and future be, when the past no longer is, and the future is not yet? As for the present, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-can-the-past-and-future-be-when-the-past-no-longer-is-and-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“There is often a great deal more of the past in the future than there was in the past itself at the time... one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-thackeray-ritchie/there-is-often-a-great-deal-more-of-the-past-in-the-future-than-there/) Anne Thackeray Ritchie > [None of us can be in the present and the past at the same time, not even when we try to understand the things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/none-of-us-can-be-in-the-present-and-the-past-at-the-same-time-not-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [None of us can be in the present and the past at the same time, not even when we try to understand the things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/none-of-us-can-be-in-the-present-and-the-past-at-the-same-time-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [None of us can be in the present and the past at the same time, not even when we try to understand the things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate/none-of-us-can-be-in-the-present-and-the-past-at-the-same-time-not-3/) [Nate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate/) > [The power of historical fiction for bad and for good can be immense in shaping consciousness of the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-beevor/the-power-of-historical-fiction-for-bad-and-for-good-can-be-immense/) [Antony Beevor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-beevor/) > [I've come to think that the universe is a four-dimensional site in which nothing is changing and nothing is moving. The only thing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/i-ve-come-to-think-that-the-universe-is-a-four-dimensional-site-in/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [The consciousness of the past weighs like a nightmare on the brain of the living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/the-consciousness-of-the-past-weighs-like-a-nightmare-on-the-brain-of/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [“To the future or to the past, to a time when thought is free, when men are different from one another and do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/to-the-future-or-to-the-past-to-a-time-when-thought-is-free-when-men/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [To the future or to the past, to a time when thought is free, when men are different from one another and do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/to-the-future-or-to-the-past-to-a-time-when-thought-is-free-when-men-2/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [The reality consists only of now, the present. It has nothing to do with the past and nothing to do with the future. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-reality-consists-only-of-now-the-present-it-has-nothing-to-do/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You have to keep being curious. The notion that the present is different than the past, and the future will be different than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-wexner/you-have-to-keep-being-curious-the-notion-that-the-present-is/) [Les Wexner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-wexner/) > [We human beings have enormous difficulty in focusing on the present; we always thinking about what we did, about how we could have done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/we-human-beings-have-enormous-difficulty-in-focusing-on-the-present/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [As I get older, the present and the past shift and become the past and the future... A lot of it is a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/feist/as-i-get-older-the-present-and-the-past-shift-and-become-the-past-and/) [Feist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/feist/) > [Focus in your present, not in your past or future Be happy for what you have today, rather than be sad about what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-mustafa/focus-in-your-present-not-in-your-past-or-future-be-happy-for-what/) [Farah Mustafa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-mustafa/) ## More by Maurice Merleau-Ponty > [Science manipulates things and gives up living in them. It makes its own limited models of things; operating upon these indices or variables to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/science-manipulates-things-and-gives-up-living-in-them-it-makes-its/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“The unfinished nature of phenomenology and the inchoate style in which it proceeds are not the signs of failure; they were inevitable because phenomenology’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/the-unfinished-nature-of-phenomenology-and-the-inchoate-style-in/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [We should be sensitive to the thread of silence from which the tissue of speech is woven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/we-should-be-sensitive-to-the-thread-of-silence-from-which-the-tissue/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“Man is hidden, well hidden, & this time we must make no mistake about it: this does not mean that he is there beneath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/man-is-hidden-well-hidden-this-time-we-must-make-no-mistake-about-it/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“There is no universal clock, but local histories take form beneath our eyes, and begin to regulate themselves, and haltingly are linked to one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/there-is-no-universal-clock-but-local-histories-take-form-beneath-our/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [We know not through our intellect but through our experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/we-know-not-through-our-intellect-but-through-our-experience/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“There are several ways for a body to be a body, and several ways for consciousness to be consciousness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/there-are-several-ways-for-a-body-to-be-a-body-and-several-ways-for/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“We do not have the right to level out all experience into a single world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/we-do-not-have-the-right-to-level-out-all-experience-into-a-single/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“The world and reason are not problems; and though we might call them mysterious, this mystery is essential to them, there can be no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/the-world-and-reason-are-not-problems-and-though-we-might-call-them/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“Memory is the irruption of other things in us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/memory-is-the-irruption-of-other-things-in-us/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“Expression is like a step taken in the fog--no one can say where, if anywhere, it will lead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/expression-is-like-a-step-taken-in-the-fog-no-one-can-say-where-if/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“Any commemoration is also a betrayal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/any-commemoration-is-also-a-betrayal/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [The full meaning of a language is never translatable into another. We may speak several languages but one of them always remains the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/the-full-meaning-of-a-language-is-never-translatable-into-another-we/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [ Our view of man will remain superficial so long as we fail to go back to that origin \[of silence\], so long as we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/our-view-of-man-will-remain-superficial-so-long-as-we-fail-to-go-back/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“This is an encounter between the human and the non-human, it is something like a behavior of the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/this-is-an-encounter-between-the-human-and-the-non-human-it-is/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) [Explore all 145 Maurice Merleau-Ponty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) ## More Past future quotes > [“The past and the future are what's complicated. It's the present that's simple. And the simplicity is the sensation of it being just her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-past-and-the-future-are-what-s-complicated-it-s-the-present-that/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“The past and the future were just blinders we wore so that infinity wouldn’t drive us mad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/the-past-and-the-future-were-just-blinders-we-wore-so-that-infinity/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [The past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-past-and-the-future-become-unimportant-there-is-only-that-moment/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [To live in the past or in the future may be less satisfying than to live in the present, but it can never be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/to-live-in-the-past-or-in-the-future-may-be-less-satisfying-than-to/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [You cannot find yourself in the past or future.The only place where you can find yourself is in the Now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-malabago/you-cannot-find-yourself-in-the-past-or-future-the-only-place-where/) [Regina Malabago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-malabago/) > [“You see, the future is a kind of stew, a soup, a vichyssoise of the present and the past. That's how you get the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/you-see-the-future-is-a-kind-of-stew-a-soup-a-vichyssoise-of-the/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [As an architect you design for the present, with an awareness of the past, for a future which is essentially unknown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-foster/as-an-architect-you-design-for-the-present-with-an-awareness-of-the/) [Norman Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-foster/) > [Capitalism is not the system of the past; it is the system of the future -- if mankind is to have a future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/capitalism-is-not-the-system-of-the-past-it-is-the-system-of-the/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“I stood in the middle between my past and my future, and the symbolism wasn't lost on me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-suzanne/i-stood-in-the-middle-between-my-past-and-my-future-and-the-symbolism/) [Lisa Suzanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-suzanne/) > [The increase of disorder or entropy is what distinguishes the past from the future, giving a direction to time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-increase-of-disorder-or-entropy-is-what-distinguishes-the-past/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [“Inhale the present, exhale the past and the future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leticia-rae/inhale-the-present-exhale-the-past-and-the-future/) [Leticia Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leticia-rae/) > [“It has been argued that we have reason to know that the future will resemble the past, because what was the future has constantly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/it-has-been-argued-that-we-have-reason-to-know-that-the-future-will/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [When we yield to discouragement it is usually because we give too much thought to the past and to the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/therese-of-lisieux/when-we-yield-to-discouragement-it-is-usually-because-we-give-too/) [Therese of Lisieux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/therese-of-lisieux/) > [Knowledge owns the past and future, as long as we've the information we've power over the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/knowledge-owns-the-past-and-future-as-long-as-we-ve-the-information/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [I'm not good at future planning. I don't plan at all. I don't know what I'm doing tomorrow. I don't have a day planner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heath-ledger/i-m-not-good-at-future-planning-i-don-t-plan-at-all-i-don-t-know-what/) [Heath Ledger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heath-ledger/) Browse all 476 Past future quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The present still holds on to the immediate past without positing it as an object, and since the immediate past similarly holds its immediate predecessor, past time is wholly collected up and grasped in the present. The same is true of the imminent future which will also have its horizon of imminence. But with my immediate past I have also the horizon of futurity which surrounded it, and thus I have my actual present seen as the future of that past. With the imminent future, I have the horizon of the past which will surround it, and therefore my actual present as the past of that future. Thus, through the double horizon of retention and protention, my present may cease to be a factual present quickly carried away and abolished by the flow of duration, and become a fixed and identifiable point in objective time. But, once more, my human gaze never posits more than one facet of the object, even though by means of horizons it is directed towards all the others. It can never come up against previous appearances or those presented to other people otherwise than through the intermediary of time and language. If I conceive in the image of my own gaze those others which, converging from all directions, explore every corner of the house and define it, I have still only a harmonious and indefinite set of views of the object, but not the object in its plenitude. In the same way, although my present draws into itself time past and time to come, it possesses them only in intention, and even if, for example, the consciousness of my past which I now have seems to me to cover exactly the past as it was, the past which I claim to recapture is not the real past, but my past as I now see it, perhaps after altering it. Similarly in the future I may have a mistaken idea about the present which I now experience. Thus the synthesis of horizons is no more than a presumptive synthesis, operating with certainty and precision only in the immediate vicinity of the object. The remoter surrounding is no longer within my grasp; it is no longer composed of still discernible objects or memories; it is an anonymous horizon now incapable of bringing any precise testimony, and leaving the object as incomplete and open as it is indeed, in perceptual experience. 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