18919: Counterfactual Histories and Counterfactual Futures: A New Direction for Cognition

Sunday, July 27, 2025

17:15 - 18:45 CEST (GMT+2)

Location: Bella Center: Hall B- B2-m3

Session Type: Symposium (panel)
Orientation: Teaching,Practice,Research
Shareable link: https://cdmcd.co/wjAdRR

Organizer(s)

MB

Meenal Banga

U. of Texas at Austin, United States
MC

Mia Chang-Zunino

ESCP Business School, France

Panelist(s)

TF

Teppo Felin

Utah State U., United States
FC

Felipe Csaszar

U. of Michigan, United States
GC

Gino Cattani

New York U., United States
SA

Sharon Alvarez

U. of Pittsburgh, United States
JP

Joseph Porac

New York U., United States
JR

Juliane Reinecke I

University of Oxford

This symposium advances the exploration of imagination as a structured cognitive process that shapes strategic thinking, innovation, and entrepreneurship. While imagination is often perceived as spontaneous, free-associative, or akin to daydreaming, research in cognitive science and psychology reveals that counterfactual imagination—focused on reconstructing pasts and envisioning futures—follows an identifiable structure. This symposium highlights the role of counterfactual imagination in generating novel strategies, reassessing historical contingencies, and envisioning desirable futures. Panelists will discuss the epistemic value of counterfactual thinking, its function in sensemaking, the role of AI in counterfactual imagination, the construction of environments through the use of counterfactual imagination, and its potential to be cultivated as a skill for strategic management and entrepreneurship.