Mankind in Search of Humankind or: Tomorrow Will Be Different

Journal für Reproduktionsmedizin und Endokrinologie - Journal of Reproductive Medicine and Endocrinology 2011; 8 (Sonderheft 1): 239-258

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Many, if not all of us, agree with the statement that “Tomorrow will be different”, but none of us really knows in what way. However, we are convinced that there will be a tomorrow, albeit it is far from certain, that there really will be one and if so, whether we really will be capable of distinguishing it from the present and the past. In a letter to Michelangelo Besso (21 March 1955) Albert Einstein emphasized, that “the distinction between past, present and future is only an illusion, however persistent”. These concepts are difficult for us to say the least to distinguish from each other due to the fact, that the timeframe of human existence is a continuum. However, from the point of view of elementary logic for everyday usage, it may be helpful to distinguish the present from the past and the future, in spite of all obvious limitations of such an artificial distinction …