History and Experiment

Suppressed in any expectation is essential uncertainty, e. g. ALS is a reminder of what is taken for granted in even the simplest physiological effort.  Likewise, as unprecedented as is the extent of control that Humankind currently exercises over the rest of Nature, it is hardly infinite, and, so, neither the continuation nor the increase of that control is inevitable, even if likely.  Now, while that suppression may be vital to efficiency of functioning, it is inappropriate in either a Psychological doctrine or a theory of History.  So, instead, given that uncertainty, every new active experiential moment is experimental, i. e. is an attempt at something, with the outcome not guaranteed, regardless of precedence.  In other words, even when all previous efforts have been successful, the fundamental repetition is not of the successful result, but of the underlying experiment.  Likewise, as Washington, Nietzsche, and Dewey appreciate better than does Hegel and Marx, History is essentially a product of such experiments.