Gifford Lectures (audio) Prof. Kathryn Tanner - Nothing but the Present
Jun 1, 2018
Prof. Kathryn Tanner, a Marquand Professor of Systematic Theology at Yale, explores the implications of a present-focused mindset shaped by finance-driven capitalism. She reveals how this urgency affects workers and the indebted poor, often leading to risky behaviors and fragmented memories. Tanner contrasts this with a Christian perspective that emphasizes grace and eternal depth, suggesting that a divine focus can unify our experience of time. Her insights challenge listeners to reflect on the balance between immediate pressures and long-term well-being.
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Scarcity Forces A Narrow Present
- Finance-driven workplaces create urgent, all-consuming presentness by eliminating slack and demanding perfect attention to tasks.
- This scarcity-driven focus prevents stepping back to reassess or imagine doing things differently.
The Small Suitcase Example
- Tanner follows behavioral economist Sendhil Mullainathan's suitcase example to show how scarcity sharpens attention.
- A small suitcase forces careful packing and trade-offs, unlike a roomy one that encourages wasteful inattention.
Emergency Mindset Shrinks Temporal Depth
- Preoccupation with emergencies compresses temporal depth: past and future drop out of present consciousness.
- That compression strongly increases discounting of future costs and promotes borrowing against tomorrow.
