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Chapter 6 - Imagining the Future

from Part III - The Utopian Self

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 May 2026

Giulia Valpione
Affiliation:
École Normale Supérieure, Paris
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Summary

In the previous chapter the fragmentation of the modern age has been discussed. In this chapter I will show that for the Romantics this fragmentation is a form of stagnation of time, where the transformative power proper of Becoming is missing and where, therefore, freedom is not deemed possible. How can the transformative power be re-introduced into history without falling into the illusion that the self could be the sovereign agent of such a transformation? The Romantic answer to this question deals with three key concepts: critical thinking, humanity, and utopia. Critical thinking is viewed as a creative act that detects in the present signs of a better future, humanity as the future non-sovereign subject of history, and utopia as the imagination of a possible future that, at the same time, does not imply a concept of history as ‘progress’. Together, as will be analysed at the end of the chapter, they allow us to think the relationship between history and nature neither as opposition nor as identity, providing thought-provoking and original perspectives on the actual debate in environmental philosophy.

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  • Imagining the Future
  • Giulia Valpione, École Normale Supérieure, Paris
  • Book: The Romantic Self
  • Online publication: 25 May 2026
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009571517.007
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  • Imagining the Future
  • Giulia Valpione, École Normale Supérieure, Paris
  • Book: The Romantic Self
  • Online publication: 25 May 2026
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009571517.007
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Imagining the Future
  • Giulia Valpione, École Normale Supérieure, Paris
  • Book: The Romantic Self
  • Online publication: 25 May 2026
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009571517.007
Available formats
×