Is There A Future? Some Answers from Indian Philosophical and Narrative Literature
The assumption in a conference talking about the future, is, I think, that the future is something we can in fact talk about as distinct from the present and the past by definition, in function and in ontological status. Alas, as I began to think more closely about these assumptions I was ready to call off the show. Many Indian philosophers in fact argued that it is impossible to define the three times, past, present and future as distinct from each other; some even went so far as to assert that no difference can be seen in the function of something that is past and something that is future. Both past and future can be objects of knowledge, and this is trickier, both can act as causes giving rise to products. This ability to cause something was seen by Buddhists and following them, by Jains too as the very definition of existence; an imaginary flower doesn’t emit fragrance but a real flower does. If past, present and future things all can act as causes, then they are all equally existent.
