Although it is not always made explicit, people are constantly experiencing the change fulness of reality. Equally implicit is the accompanying awareness of what is enduring, persistent or constant. Even when the claim is made that everything always changes, most people solely notice the term change without realizing that “change-statements” like these are always accompanied by implicit “constancy assumptions.” Just consider the term just now used: “always.” It captures the meaning of equivalent terms, such as persisting, lasting, on-going, continuing, perpetual, what remains the same, what is identical and what is constant. Consider similar combined phrases such as “things are continuously changing,” “things are constantly varying,” “perpetually changing” and so on. Within scholarly discourse these terms also feature. Mathematical logic speaks about constants and variables and in economic reflections an element of persistence is captured when people speak about sustainable development. This article endeavours to reflect on the age-old problem of constancy and change with special attention for the Cinderella of philosophical thought, the place and meaning of constancy. The primary focus will be on various modes of explanation implicitly known to us within the natural sciences as well as the humanities.

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