Wisdom!
"Time lies behind us, contingency before us. We realise their union in the present."
[Free translation. I appreciate that my second sentence doesn't quite capture the subtleties of the Hegelian "aufheben". I also sense a resonance with the Taoist notion of "incipiencies".]
@the_roamer Thanks, that's nice of you. I like your translation because it's impossible to translate the Hegelian 'aufheben' into English but you're right that I had this on my mind.
But the 'Taoist notion of 'incipiencies'' is interesting because I don't know much about Taoism. I will look into it. :)
Laotzi's idea of steering a process with minimal intervention, based on responding to emerging developments before they become manifest. Also the basis for a secular explanation of the I Ching: it helps us detect elements of the situation that otherwise remain hidden.
Joseph A Adler has written extensively on how this theme was developed in the various traditions in China between 600 BCE and 1200 CE. A thinker called Xhu Xi, for instance, wrote this in 1188 CE:
"Incipiencies, or the subtle indications of activity, lie between desiring to act and imminent activity, where there is both good [apt choice] and evil [futile choice]. One must understand them at this point. If they reach the point of becoming manifest [they are already set in motion], then one can [no longer] help anything... ."
I sense the same emphasis on detecting the possible in the present in your quote.
Quote from p12 of: https://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Writings/Zhu%20Xi%20and%20Yi.pdf
@the_roamer Whao! Thank you very much. I had something like this on my mind but I couldn't articuled it. Xhu Xi wrote in 1188 something really close to what I was trying to say.
That's great. Again, thank you very much!
Learning never stops. It's a life long endeavor.
Weltzeitgeist
the roamer