There was a bit of discussion on how the past vs. present vs. future are viewed by individuals, with Professor Goodman making the point because the past is more constrained by data, people tend to imagine alternatives to the future a bit more. Professor Gilbert’s point was more so that when you are separated from any point on the timeline, whether the past or the future, imagination is invoked in a similar manner. I know that there were societies that didn’t consider either the past or the future to the extent that we do. Are there any telling examples of how this impacted these societies’ imagination (ie: is there storytelling more focused on the past or the future)?
Good question, @Sravya Kuchibhotla — maybe Andrew Deloucas might have thoughts?