On the Possibility of Time Tiavel

Abstract

Time travel can be defined as an experience and social practice in the present that evokes a past (or future) reality. In this paper I introduce popular time travel as a significant phenomenon of the Experience or Dream Society and the fast developing Experince Industry, benefiting from new technologies such as virtual reality. I also consider in what way time travel can be said to be real rather than imaginary. Discussion is offered concerning the experience in time travels of a seemingly non-mediated "presence" of pastness, denoting a perceived contemporary quality or condition of being past. The final part of the paper addresses some implications and issues associated wirh the ubiquity and popularity of time travel in present-day society and points to a number of important issues that warrant further discussion in the future.