On the Nature of Time in Postnormal Times

In postnormal times, the future constantly interacts with, and determines, the present; and time is often experienced simultaneously as linear and cyclic. As a result, the future is either eclipsed or is feared - a fear associated with shifts in global power, breakdown of paradigms, and the collapse of society and civilization from climate change and ecological disasters. This reflective paper argues that time in our epoch is epistemologically and ontologically broken and explores the impact of the drivers of postnormal change - speed, scope, scale and simultaneity - on our perceptions of time. It argues that speed is linked to 'implicit fascism', and simultaneity forces us to react to a number of different, and contradictory, demands. In postnormal times, the paper argues, the present, fluctuating with accelerating change, constantly devours the future; and the future often determines the present. Finally, it suggests that we need to see the future not as a time horizon but as an ever-present garden to be cultivated by all for all times.