possibility studies
“Hope is the embrace of the unknown and the unknowable, an alternative to the certainty of both optimists and pessimists”—Rebecca Solnit *“Any useful idea about the future should appear ridiculous”–Jim Dator*
Loes Damhof • Imagining the Impossible: An Act of Radical Hope
Like any currency of value, the human imagination is a coin with two inseparable sides. It is our faculty of fancy that fills the disquieting gaps of the unknown with the tranquilizing certitudes of myth and superstition, that points to magic and witchcraft when common sense and reason fail to unveil causality. But that selfsame faculty is also... See more
Maria Popova • Figuring
Dominant narratives are keeping us hostage. By freeing up our imagination to what is impossible, we can break ourselves free as well. Just as much as we should not colonize the possible future, we should not colonize the so-called impossible future either.
Loes Damhof • Imagining the Impossible: An Act of Radical Hope
Experiences of the possible foster mental health . While mental health and well-being have a wide range of determinants, the capacity to envision a multitude of possible solutions to life’s problems, and the confidence that some of these can be achieved, is a precondition for both.
Vlad P. Glăveanu • Possibility Studies: A Manifesto
Indeed, imagination is alive and well in relation to technology: a future is being built where manufactured goods will mainly be grown rather than made, where wars may be settled in a matter of seconds thanks to AI, or where long-standing hopes for the colonisation of space may start to be realised. Technology has repeatedly expanded the space of
... See moreGeoff Mulgan • Another World Is Possible: How to Reignite Social and Political Imagination
Our assumptions of the future are being challenged: even what we took for granted now seems uncertain. And instead of asking: how did we get here? We are left with the question: what made us think we would never get here? If the unimaginable suddenly becomes a reality, then what is left to imagine? Is it still worth being hopeful? It appears that
... See moreLoes Damhof • Imagining the Impossible: An Act of Radical Hope
(4) The dominant notion of reality is deeply related to the fact that we (moderns) believe in science and abstract knowledge as arbitrators of truth, in the autonomous and competitive individual as the kernel of society, and in the economy as a separate domain ruled by “free markets.” These entangled set of beliefs have created the modern idea that
... See moreArturo Escobar • Welcome to Possibility Studies
Collectivities of humans, moreover, take a myriad of shapes, from small groups to organizations and transnational corporations. This is not even to mention the curious possibilities pursued in and among the more-than-human world. The dynamics we are describing, then, are scalar in nature and have wide conceptual purchase accordingly.
Perry Zurn, Dani S. Bassett • Curiosity and Networks of Possibility
Throughout my career, I’ve learned that with the right mix of determination, focus and patience, change is possible. World-weary realism often turns out to be extraordinarily unrealistic.