Educating (for) the blossomest of blossoms: Finitude and the temporal arc of the counterfactual

The purpose of this article is threefold: to offer a vision human flourishing in the academy premised upon ‘living truth’, embracing lived experience and being relation; explore counterfactual thinking across life-course, from period compulsory schooling end life, with emphasis on latter; critique practice drawing philosophy provide an interpretative framework through which address arts, work Cora Diamond. movement towards death explored three vignettes, focusing ‘characters’ facing prospect their imminent demise: philosopher Richard Rorty, English television dramatist screenwriter Dennis Potter consultant physician (the father one authors). Drawing historian Timothy Snyder, relevance claim made by Vaclav Havel that ‘essence precedes existence’ relation climate contemporary education system. primacy essence over existence also key feature vignettes lives players form centrepiece article. These enable us ‘think without thinking’, perhaps par excellence.