Concept in Definition ABC

The word posterity refers to the time that is to come, that is, the future. As for its etymology, it comes from the Latin posteritas, which refers to future generations. Posterity is generally spoken of in relation to gaining fame after death.

A reflection on glory and success beyond death

One of the aspects that most influence human behavior is the search for social recognition and success. Somehow we all yearn for a certain success, whether in the realm professional or personally. We want to achieve the recognition of our peers so intensely that this feeling is projected beyond our own life. Thus, there are individuals who wish to pass on to posterity, that is, to be remembered by future generations for their achievements or for the legacy who have left the humanity

From a perspective strictly rational, the desire of someone to pass to posterity is apparently contradictory, since wanting what is not going to be enjoyed is meaningless. However, this contradiction

logic it disappears if we take into account that the human being has a sense of transcendence and projects his life beyond the coordinates of the present.

Characters who have passed into posterity

The fact that someone goes down to posterity implies that his trajectory vital is recognized from a historical point of view, but this recognition may or may not be favorable. If we contemplate the history of humanity from the perspective of the present, we observe the two faces of posterity.

Characters such as Buddha, Jesus Christ, Aristotle, Alexander the Great or Hippocrates have passed down to posterity for their ideas, for the legacy that they left to the following generations and in all these cases their contributions are generally considered positive.

There are characters who have passed down to posterity not for their good deeds but for their bad ones, just as they have happened to individuals who have sown terror (Hitler, Stalin and a long list of leaders totalitarians). Regardless of judgment moral on some and on others, it is evident that all of them have passed to posterity, for better or for worse.

The question of passing to posterity does not apply exclusively to great people, but can also be used in relation to landmarks historical, that is, the great battles, revolutions, inventions and everything that remains in the collective memory and in the historical legacy.

Photos: iStock - George Clerk / Cristian Baitg

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