Our Place in History

"History has no natural divisions. A woman living in Florence in the 15th Century did not think of herself as a woman of the Renaissance."

Is that true? It probably is for "a woman living in Florence in the 15th century" but is it true for us living in the developed world today? I think that we in western Europe have a pretty clear idea that we belong to a post-industrial age that is already quite far-removed from the world of the early 20th century, not to mention all that went before.

I think, too, that we are entertaining the idea, perhaps for the first time, that our own times are not the last word in "progress", and we are certainly beginning to come to terms with the prospect, very much more than an idea, of our western civilisation  being sidelined in the years ahead.