The professor and writer C.S. Lewis had a name for the tendency to suppose one’s present age is superior to all others. He called it “chronological snobbery.” In his talk, “Learning in Wartime,” Lewis said:

“… we need intimate knowledge of the past. Not that the past has any magic about it, but because we cannot study the future, and yet need something to set against the present, to remind us that the basic assumptions have been quite different in different periods and that much which seems certain to the uneducated is merely temporary fashion.”

Doctors used to think bleeding a sick person rid them of harmful humors. Some used to believe that moonlight contributed to insanity. Decades ago, smoking cigarettes was considered sophisticated. Then we learned that tobacco was a factor in lung cancer, as well as other diseases.

In the future, Lewis said, that which we now consider the height of learning may turn out to be ridiculous.

We should carry our present assumptions lightly and treat with respect those who cherish past ones. Who knows, present dictates may turn out to be merely temporary fashion.