Future Past
The time modality ‘future past’ seems to be a strange nexus. Something which has no actuality in the present (of the observing system), but will become relevant in the future – what could that be?
A simple example of this is capital formation. In the present, one does without consumption (=updating) of available means and sets them aside (=creating potential). Thus, capital is formed which has, in favour of future possibilities, not been used in the present. This ‘past’ creates possibilities for an unknown future, which would not have been possible without this past. Another example is this: Something in the past gains an unimagined meaning in the future. Years ago I criticised someone, and this person now holds a grudge which might influence me massively if the potential for revenge should ever occur in the future. Here, too, something is retained which could become fact in the future.
The functional interaction with future pasts essentially consists of deciding where present possibilities are not to be used and therefore preserved, in order to have resources or potential available for the future. This presupposes denial- and preparedness competence. A system requires ‘capacity reserves’. When everything is at stake, unknown futures easily become a problem.