How we cite our quotes: (Paragraph)
Quote #10
In history there are no control groups. There is no one to tell us what might have been. There never was. It is supposed to be true that those who do not know history are condemned to repeat it. I dont believe that knowing can save us. What is constant in history is greed and foolishness and a love of blood and this is a thing that even God—who knows all that can be known—seems powerless to change. (3421)
Alfonsa here seems to think that we can't learn how history might be different, and yet there are constants or patterns—is there a contradiction between claiming to know what is always the case in history and being unable to have a method for knowing how it might be different? How might we know what the patterns are, and what might we be unable to see?