The Future is as Real as the Past
Ryan Cherewaty, May 2, 2017
“Who said that time heals all wounds? It would be better to say that time heals everything except wounds. With time, the hurt of separation loses its real limits. With time, the desired body will soon disappear, and if the desiring body has already ceased to exist for the other, then what remains is a wound... disembodied.” As human culture on this planet appears to be reaching a critical historical point, there exists a possibility to change the terms of our engagement with the cosmos in which we inhabit. Computer scientists have long theorised that we are approaching a technological singularity, whereby a machine intelligence will introduce a paradigm shift of unparalleled proportions into human existence. It is type of thinking is rife with a fatalism that seems to preclude any sort of intervention in this destiny. It is easier to imagine the end of time than it is to solve the crisis of our time. This form of thinking can also be found throughout texts and work regarding the anthropocene. Within it lies forms of thinking that seem to conclude the finality of the destruction of the planet, and the best we can do at this point is to inspire sympathy with those on the front lines of this environmental catastrophe.
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The Future is as Real as the Past