On the Threshold. Some considerations on the relationship between present and future in the perspective of sustainability

This paper investigates the concept of sustainability through the metaphor of the threshold, reframing the temporal relationship between present and future. Moving beyond the dominant logic in which present determines future possibilities, the analysis proposes a reversal: the future, in its indeterminacy, shapes the present. By engaging with key philosophical perspectives, the threshold is interpreted as a generative, relational and liminal space where transformation becomes possible. This conceptual lens allows for a renewed understanding of sustainability not as a fixed goal but as an open-ended process oriented toward a future in common. The paper emphasizes the ethical and political significance of this shift, highlighting how sustainability entails not only intergenerational responsibility but also a reformulation of collective subjectivity, grounded in care, relationality and vulnerability.