Presenting the Future

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Paper Abstract for: World Futures Studies Federation XVII World Conference, Brasov, Romania (5-9 Sept 2001)

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Introduction

Abstract: Explores ways of making understanding of the future meaningful in 'the present' moment by giving it a new operational form of actuality and immediacy that 'the future' tends to lack when it is described in terms of scenarios that may become a reality at some distant time. 'Presenting' is therefore used here in a much stronger and more radical sense of 'making present' rather than in the more common, weaker and more dissociated sense characteristic of 'presentations' about the future. This approach responds to the often dramatic, concrete challenges of personal survival through the austerity gap between present circumstances and the future time when their unsatisfactory conditions may possibly be remedied by proposed initiatives. From the prevailing perspective it is argued that many contemporary proposals are difficult to distinguish from variants of Ponzi schemes in which people are called upon to invest psychological or material resources in ways that benefit the few 'in the present' without any guarantee of benefit to the many 'in the future'. In this light the paper explores enhancement of quality of life, and sense of well-being, in the present -- and the ways in which 'the futures' that can emerge are necessarily embodied embryonically in the understanding of the present moment -- to a greater degree than is is implied by efforts purporting to remedy external conditions towards such ends. It therefore explores 'the future' as a distinct way of being in 'the present', rather than as how people might experience 'the present' in some projected 'future'. This requires new consideration of the kinds of conceptual feedback loops essential to sustaining well-being in the moment, whether or not such considerations have long been characteristic of some non-western cultures. It takes account of the variety of cultural understandings distinguishing, or failing to distinguish, the present from the past or the future (typical of the prevailing 'arrow of time' model) -- and the challenge of providing a coherent framework for such a diversity of worldviews. The challenge of articulating and understanding such a 'global' framework is seen here as raising many issues with respect to 'local' understandings of experience in the moment, which must necessarily impact upon commitment to 'development' through time as currently advocated.

The inspiration and preoccupation of this paper is with the loss of the present as a moment-by-moment experience. This experience is either projected onto the future in terms of hopes or anxieties, or fragmented and commodified as discrete consumables by which people may immediately be tempted.

Whether for the individual, a group, a nation or the world, there is much investment in the articulation of desirable futures that might be planned for or purchased -- to avoid less desirable futures. This kind of focus on the future, and the ways of getting there, distracts from the lived experience of the moment, from nowness -- where most people are necessarily obliged to live and move and have their being. Much is said about the quality of life that might be achieved in the future -- whether near or far. Little is however said about how people can more fruitfully experience the present moment in anticipation of such changes -- if indeed they are ever brought about. Many people are effectively being subject to a form of Pyramid Selling (or Ponzi) scheme through the manner in which they are encouraged to buy into a future -- sacrificing the present -- in a process that offers no response to their well-being of the moment. The calls for investment in the future -- repeatedly neglecting any investment in the present -- increasingly parody the pitches of 'snake oil' salesmen.

'Presenting the future', in this paper, is therefore about how the present may be experienced in order to generate a more fruitful future. But it is also about how the future may then be understood in new ways from such a contrasting way of experiencing the present. In this sense it is an exploration of why the proposed futures of the past have not worked and why -- contrary to what is claimed -- those presented now are equally unlikely to work for many subscribing to them.

An early inspiration for this paper came from involvement under Johan Galtung in the Forms of Presentation subproject of the Goals, Processes and Indicators of Development (GPID) project that he coordinated for the United Nations University in the period 1979-82 (see Judge, 1984). The challenge of 'future generation' was briefly explored in a paper (/converse_x_h_1#future) for the 15th Conference of the World Future Studies Federation (Brisbane, 1997), itself partially triggered by the initiative of Saul Kuchinsky through the UniS Institute and partially by articulations of phenomenology by Francisco Varela (1997) in relation to mindfullness.

More recently, however, it was inspired by exposure to the psycho-social role of music on the west coast of Ireland (cf Steve Coleman, 1996). In this respect, if guidance were to be given to the spirit in which this paper could fruitfully be read -- as is given to those playing a musical score -- then the keywords might be: lilt, fey, sparkle, green, wit, tragedy, ancient mystery!

Part 1: Presentation and Representatives
Part 2: Making (the) Present and Thriving in the Moment
Part 3: Entelechy: actuality vs future potential
Part 4: Composing and Engendering the Future
Part 5: Present Moment Research: exploration of nowness
Table 1: Varieties of experience of past-present-future complexes

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