15 th . Meeting of ISTP – Santiago, Chile, May 2013 1 IŶteraĐtiǀe sLJŵposiuŵ “treaŵs of teŵporalitLJ NAVIGATING THE UNKNOWN RIVER OF DEVELOPMENT Luca Tateo, Aalborg University (Denmark) & Pina Marsico, University of Salerno (Italy) ltateo@unisa.it, gmarsico@unisa.it Introduction We ǁould like to start ďLJ a siŵple theoretiĐal edžperiŵeŶt. Let’s replaĐe the sailor described by Paes Loureiro in his narrative with a different character, for instance a smuggler, operating on a river at the end of 18 th Century, like those described in many adventure fictions (figure 1). How does the sense of the edžĐerpt ĐhaŶge? Let’s read it agaiŶ together! Figure 1: a representation of 18 th Century smugglers Does his solitude is still contemplative? Why he navigates the river in the deep darkness orientating with stars? Why his crew should start emitting salutations? Do the inhabitants on the banks know which kind of ship is passing by? Does it makes any difference if they decide to stay silent or answer, and are they still understandable as an act of affectivity, or is rather connivance? Does the smuggler still seek safety on the basis of a shared social universe? Are different outcomes possible, rather than tuning or synchronicity, such as jarring notes or absence of cooperation? All the questions above rise from the simple introduction of an element in the story: the goal. The excerpt we are taking from Loureiro's narrative describes a process, but this piece does not inform the reader about the objectives of the navigation. The possible outcomes can’t ďe iŵagiŶed ǁithout takiŶg iŶto aĐĐouŶt the dimension of the finalities, because they are embedded in the process itself. The navigation can thus be a metaphor for the experience of temporality towards the unknown future in development, but lacking the fundamental aspect of goal orientation. The function of signs is always future-oriented—both in their