What it means is we have to understand what it is as something which has a history, has certain things that keep it together, but it's a process, it's fluid, it's forever changing.
Ce que ça veut dire, c'est que nous devons comprendre ce que c'est comme quelque chose qui a une histoire, des choses qui le maintiennent, mais c'est un processus, c'est fluide, ça change constamment.