pastpresentfuture

Pastpresentfuture is a concise expression used to describe a non-linear conception of time in which the past, present, and future are interrelated rather than treated as strictly sequential stages. The phrase functions as a metaphor in philosophy, literary criticism, time studies, and contemporary art, signaling attention to how memory, action, and expectation shape one another across temporal boundaries.

In philosophy, pastpresentfuture is not a formal term but a heuristic used to discuss how different theories of time account for the connections among temporal modalities, such as memory, anticipation, and contingency. It can complement positions like presentism, eternalism, or the growing block theory by highlighting their overlaps and tensions.

In culture and media, the phrase appears in essays, critical theory, and as a title or motif in works that explore nonlinear narratives, time travel, or digital timekeeping. It serves as a framing device to discuss how technologies alter our experience of time or how historical events influence current and future possibilities.

General uses include as a philosophical prompt, in design thinking about temporal interfaces, and in interdisciplinary studies where history, memory, and forecast intersect.

See also: presentism, eternalism, growing block, time perception, non-linear narrative.