Precarious futures: The birth of vision at the end of the world

What does it mean to face a future ravaged by climate change, rather than unlimited progress? Why do many ignore weather catastrophes rather than tend to our relationship with planetary systems? There are answers to be had if we look at our relationship to time, particularly the future, both as the ground of our existence and that of societies. Alienation from a culture that looks away, fears about civilization ending, and ruined biodiversity are intrusively constant for a climate scientist-activist. He sought a psychoanalysis to help him face “the end of the world,” attend to emotional distress, and support his love for a planet negligently set on fire. This case study led to a reflection on the connections between self-experience and the future, a temporal dimension often neglected in theory. A phenomenological temporality is introduced which uncovers ways that self-experience is limited by Cartesian dualisms and their integration into psyche. Enduring in language and thinking, in theory, social institutions, and clinical work, they inhibit healthier responses to global crises. A new idea of amalgamated organizing principles was used to treat this scientist’s reactions to dysregulated physical eco-systems, as such, and to address transference displacements. The work led to hope and a reparative path into the future.