--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My understanding of the past has been…" description: "\"“My understanding of the past has been savagely undermined.”\" — Penelope Lively" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/penelope-lively-3959_learning_my-understanding-of-the-past-has-been-sa_419764.png" --- # My understanding of the past has been savagely undermined. ![“My understanding of the past has been savagely undermined.” quote by Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/penelope-lively-3959_learning_my-understanding-of-the-past-has-been-sa_419764.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/penelope-lively-3959_learning_my-understanding-of-the-past-has-been-sa_419764.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/penelope-lively-3959_learning_my-understanding-of-the-past-has-been-sa_419764.png) > ““My understanding of the past has been savagely undermined.”” [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our view of history can be shattered by new evidence or perspectives, challenging previous beliefs. **In simple terms:** History can be overturned by new facts. Key Takeaway Question assumptions and seek fresh evidence. Themes history knowledge revisionism Mood thoughtful curious Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - academic research - personal reflection - public policy - media analysis Key Concepts epistemology critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How do you react when your view of the past changes? - What evidence would convince you to revise a belief? A Different Perspective New interpretations may conflict with entrenched narratives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Undermined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/undermined/) ## Related quotes > [“A stone has been cast into the reliable immutable pond of the past, and as the ripples subside everything appears different. The reflections are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/a-stone-has-been-cast-into-the-reliable-immutable-pond-of-the-past/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“The idea of using current distortions to re-create the past was part of an old, now abandoned, vision of the therapist as archaeologist, patiently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/the-idea-of-using-current-distortions-to-re-create-the-past-was-part/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [It states, History should be regarded as a means for understanding the past and solving the challenges of the future. It also suggests that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-foley/it-states-history-should-be-regarded-as-a-means-for-understanding-the/) [Mark Foley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-foley/) > [Understanding the past requires pretending that you don't know the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-fussell/understanding-the-past-requires-pretending-that-you-don-t-know-the-2/) [Paul Fussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-fussell/) > [“Every future we imagine is transformed inexorably into a part of our children's understanding of their past, of the assumptions their parents and grandparents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/every-future-we-imagine-is-transformed-inexorably-into-a-part-of-our/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [We need a proper understanding of the past to correctly judge the present if we ever are to foretell the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-idso/we-need-a-proper-understanding-of-the-past-to-correctly-judge-the/) Craig D. Idso > [We all come from someplace. We didn't just get here by accident. Where we come from has got to be known, if you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-james-olmos/we-all-come-from-someplace-we-didn-t-just-get-here-by-accident-where/) [Edward James Olmos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-james-olmos/) > [I'm so suspicious of our own understanding of the past. I just think that your mind plays absolute tricks on you and fools you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/i-m-so-suspicious-of-our-own-understanding-of-the-past-i-just-think/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [History must share with reading, writing and arithmetic first rank as the most important subjects in the curriculum. Understanding the issues on which citizens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-cronkite/history-must-share-with-reading-writing-and-arithmetic-first-rank-as/) [Walter Cronkite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-cronkite/) > [ “memories were tricky things…they weren’t stable. they changed with perception over time. …they shifted, and \[she\] understood how the passage of time affected them.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-de-la-cruz/memories-were-tricky-things-they-weren-t-stable-they-changed-with/) [Melissa de la Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-de-la-cruz/) > [Understanding the past is perfectly admissible if your issue is accepting the past. But if your issue is changing the future, understanding will not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-goldsmith/understanding-the-past-is-perfectly-admissible-if-your-issue-is/) [Marshall Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-goldsmith/) > [Understanding the past requires pretending that you don't know the present. It requires feeling its own pressure on your pulses without any ex post…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-fussell/understanding-the-past-requires-pretending-that-you-don-t-know-the/) [Paul Fussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-fussell/) > [It is only education and understanding of the past that teaches us not to repeat history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-jarecki/it-is-only-education-and-understanding-of-the-past-that-teaches-us/) [Eugene Jarecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-jarecki/) > [The ability of the market to serve society gas been and is continually being undermined by the attacks levelled by its ideological opponents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israel-kirzner/the-ability-of-the-market-to-serve-society-gas-been-and-is/) Israel Kirzner > [Let's demonstrate, illustrate, the ways in which our communities are being undermined time and time again, and make sure that the broader public and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/let-s-demonstrate-illustrate-the-ways-in-which-our-communities-are/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) ## More by Penelope Lively > [“I know quite well why I became a historian… It was because dissension was frowned upon when I was a child: 'Don't argue, Claudia,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/i-know-quite-well-why-i-became-a-historian-it-was-because-dissension/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“The question is, shall it or shall it not be linear history. I've always thought a kaleidoscopic view might be an interesting heresey. Shake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/the-question-is-shall-it-or-shall-it-not-be-linear-history-i-ve/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [There's a preoccupation with memory and the operation of memory and a rather rapacious interest in history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/there-s-a-preoccupation-with-memory-and-the-operation-of-memory-and-a/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“He felt marvellously conscious of the moment, of here and now, of this day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/he-felt-marvellously-conscious-of-the-moment-of-here-and-now-of-this/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [People die, but money never does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/people-die-but-money-never-does/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“But her thoughts are often of the past. That evanescent, pervasive, slippery internal landscape known to no one else, that vast accretion of data…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/but-her-thoughts-are-often-of-the-past-that-evanescent-pervasive/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [Unless I am a part of everything I am nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/unless-i-am-a-part-of-everything-i-am-nothing/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [Getting to know someone else involves curiosity about where they have come from, who they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/getting-to-know-someone-else-involves-curiosity-about-where-they-have/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [I'm intrigued by the way in which physical appearance can often direct a person's life; things happen differently for a beautiful woman than for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/i-m-intrigued-by-the-way-in-which-physical-appearance-can-often/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [Since then, I have just read and read - but, that said, I suppose there is a raft of writers to whom I return…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/since-then-i-have-just-read-and-read-but-that-said-i-suppose-there-is/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“I have a print - you can buy them at the Victoria and Albert Museum - of a photograph of the village street of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/i-have-a-print-you-can-buy-them-at-the-victoria-and-albert-museum-of/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [Every novel generates its own climate, when you get going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/every-novel-generates-its-own-climate-when-you-get-going/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“The power of language. Preserving the ephemeral; giving form to dreams, permanence to sparks of sunlight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/the-power-of-language-preserving-the-ephemeral-giving-form-to-dreams/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [We all need a past - that's where our sense of identity comes from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/we-all-need-a-past-that-s-where-our-sense-of-identity-comes-from/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [Conventional forms of narrative allow for different points of view, but for this book I wanted a structure whereby each of the main characters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/conventional-forms-of-narrative-allow-for-different-points-of-view/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) [Explore all 118 Penelope Lively quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) ## More Learning quotes > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [Just understand that the good that you want is already here. All you have to do is get in harmony with it. And you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/just-understand-that-the-good-that-you-want-is-already-here-all-you/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [“Men mistook measurement for understanding. And they always had to put themselves at the center of everything. That was their greatest conceit. The earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/men-mistook-measurement-for-understanding-and-they-always-had-to-put/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [Learning from the best, you will eventually become the best if you have the talent already, if you have that potential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-orton/learning-from-the-best-you-will-eventually-become-the-best-if-you/) [Randy Orton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-orton/) > [Everything I do is more memorable and I understand music more than ever now. It's not a burden to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seungri/everything-i-do-is-more-memorable-and-i-understand-music-more-than/) [Seungri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seungri/) > [“let us not teach / what we have learned badly / and not profited by”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-d-hilda-doolittle/let-us-not-teach-what-we-have-learned-badly-and-not-profited-by/) H.D. (Hilda Doolittle > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [once in awhile you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look it right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/once-in-awhile-you-get-shown-the-light-in-the-strangest-of-places-if/) [Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/) > [It's like saying French shouldn't be taught because you don't understand it because it's new. Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/it-s-like-saying-french-shouldn-t-be-taught-because-you-don-t/) [Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/) > [I learned a lot about myself at Oakmont.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-lowry/i-learned-a-lot-about-myself-at-oakmont/) [Shane Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-lowry/) > [Would she understand that time had stopped while she was gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/would-she-understand-that-time-had-stopped-while-she-was-gone/) [Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/) > [It's difficult for people to come to the understanding that only a small minority of the people ever really get the word about life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/it-s-difficult-for-people-to-come-to-the-understanding-that-only-a/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [“Damen's understanding of Laurent rearranged itself, in order that he might despise him more accurately.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-u-pacat/damen-s-understanding-of-laurent-rearranged-itself-in-order-that-he/) [S.U. 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