Introduction: The Case for Tangential Imagination; 1. The Inherent Limitations of Art as a Tool for Social Imagination; 2. The Retreat from Prophecy: From Gods to Commentators, Direct to Indirect, Obvious to Opaque; 3. Ethos, Art and Social Imagination: Exploring the Tangents; 4. The Forms: How Can They Explore the Future?; 5. Collective Consciousness; 6. Dialectical Creativity; 7. Combining Order and Chaos in Tangential Imagination; Conclusions: Imagination at a Tangent; References.