Contemporary Futurist Thought

Contemporary Futurist Thought: Table of Contents
Contemporary Futurist
Thought - Begins with an in-depth examination of the highly influential literary genre
of science fiction - “the mythology of the future.” The next chapter describes
the modern academic discipline of future studies which attempts to apply
scientific methods and principles to an understanding of the future. Social and
technological trends in the twentieth century are then reviewed, setting the
stage for an analysis of the great “contemporary transformation” occurring in
our present world. Given the powerful and pervasive changes taking place across
the globe and throughout all aspects of human life, the questions arise: Where
are we potentially heading and, perhaps more importantly, where should we be
heading? The final chapter provides an extensive review of different answers to
these questions. Describing theories and approaches that highlight science,
technology, culture, human psychology, and religion, among other areas of focus,
as well as integrative views which attempt to provide big pictures of all
aspects of human life, the book provides a rich and broad overview of
contemporary ideas and visions about the future. In the conclusion, Dr. Lombardo
assesses and synthesizes these myriad perspectives, proposing a set of key ideas
central to understanding the future.
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Book Reviews
This volume is
much more eclectic than the usual review of the field, enfolding the
‘zeitgeist’ of the study of the future as well as the methodology. The
author does this by including some of the less traditional expressions of
futures thinking, including an extensive review of science fiction as it is
relevant to futurist thinking. Lombardo looks at science fiction not as
just an entertainment medium, but as it captures spiritual and mythic themes
and he quotes some of the deeper practitioners of that field, including the
incomparable Olaf Stapleton and the thoughtful HG Wells. This sensitivity
to the underlying cultural currents (which of course shape all foresight
work) is evident in a quote taken from Neil Postman. “What Orwell feared
were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be
no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one.”
And unfortunately, both of these dystopian visions have now come to pass in
some way.
Lombardo points
out that beginning with the work of HG Wells, future studies evolved beyond
mere methodology for ‘prediction’ to assessments of human society and
normative proposals for improvement. And he quotes Ed Cornish concerning
the movement away from the ‘scientific’ belief in progress after World War
II toward a more value-oriented recognition of the role of uncertainty in
future-studies…restated by Mike Marien as the categorization of futures into
‘possible, probable, and preferable.’
However, this
‘Western scientific view’ of futures was soon expanded by scholars like
Richard Slaughter in a call to look beyond technology and rationalism to the
humanistic and intuitive elements of a more integral (objective/subjective,
individual/social) vision of how the future unfolds. What is refreshing
about this book is Lombardo’s willingness to look at these often opposed
viewpoints in their own context and accept each of them as part of the large
future studies universe. Although he has his biases, he states them clearly
and gives all sides a fair hearing.
And as foresight
continued to evolve, he notes that the growth of new disciplines such as
complexity and chaos theory, creativity dynamics, open systems, quantum
mechanics and the study of unintended consequences brought a fresh and
energizing influence to the futures field. Indeed it sometimes seems to
this reviewer that the ongoing debates between various ‘schools’ of futuring
concerning their perceived strengths and weaknesses may serve as a sort of
Social Darwinism, that challenges and improves the tools and techniques of
these various schools of futurist thought.
In a wider context, Dr. Lombardo
relates the themes of change, growth, fundamentalism, cultural evolution and
even temporal physics to the larger world and how these futures concepts
play out in conflicts over sustainability, religion, freedom, organizational
behavior, cultural pluralism and science policy. While it is not within the
range of this review to do justice to the richness and depth of this
compendium, the author has worked heroically to do justice to the complexity
of futures thinking and capture the thought of nearly all of its leading
thinkers.
Timothy
C. Mack
President, World Future Society
Futures thinking is more
than making predictions - 5 Stars on Amazon
(RE:
CONTEMPORARY FUTURIST THOUGHT)
One of the
things that intrigues me about this book and its companion volume THE
EVOLUTION OF FUTURE CONSCIOUSNESS is their implicit conviction that thinking
seriously about the future is a central element in human cognition, past and
present, and that as it evolves it necessarily goes well beyond making
predictions. I also like its well-informed treatment of science fiction
(which I have sometimes thought could as appropriately be called
evolutionary fiction) as a complement and equal to academic and
technological future studies.
Walter
Truett Anderson
President, World Academy of Art and Science
A prime resource for Futures Studies and Futures Foresight -
5 Stars on Amazon
Anyone interested in the future would find "Contemporary Futurist
Thought" a notable resource that thoroughly reviews the various theories and
paradigms, along with the modern thinkers and writers who made significant
contributions to futures thinking.
Dr. Lombardo meritoriously examines the creative influences that emerge from
science fiction, the systematic approaches taken in the future studies field,
and the prodigious array of contemporary thought. All the pertinent people and
materials are recognized throughout, which makes this book a relevant foundation
for both, students of futures studies and professional futurists.
His explanations regarding futurists' roles, purposes for futures thinking and
his delineation of the disagreements within the field alleviates the confusion
often felt by students and professional futurists attempting to decipher the
field of futures studies or to establish a consensus of future foresight, which
Lombardo acknowledges as a field that has "no unified community."
I highly recommend this book as a reference source for academia and as a
refresher for professionals to enrich their perspectives on the direction
futures thinking is headed.
J. E. Foltz
Phoenix Arizona
5 Stars on Amazon
I think
[Contemporary Futurist Thought] is a great contribution not only to
futurists and the futures field but also to general intellectuals, academics in
many disciplines, and even to the popular culture and the ordinary reader.
In Contemporary Futurist Thought Thomas
Lombardo has written a great book. He brilliantly brings together his
encyclopedic knowledge of science fiction and futures studies—all within the
intellectual history of the world’s top philosophers, theologians, and
scientists. He is a master guide, taking his readers on a fascinating tour of
four overlapping intellectual worlds. The first is science fiction, whose power
and importance to understanding contemporary social change he brings to life
like no other writer. The second is the growing scholarly field of futures
studies, which he reveals as a thrilling drama of the human struggle to
understand the future. In his discussions of the third world of trends in the 20th century and the fourth world of theories and visions of the future, Lombardo
inspires, entertains, informs, mesmerizes, and at times even terrifies his
readers with his accounts of the powerful images of humanity’s possible futures
that are today competing to shape the human future.
[He] has written a must-read book for
futurists. …he has done what no other futurist has yet accomplished by
critically summarizing the modern field of futures studies in the context of a
detailed analysis of science fiction. It is a brilliant performance, informed,
fair-minded, reliable, and powerful. Non-futurist readers, too, will be
fascinated by this book, because Lombardo vividly captures “the vast wondrous
drama of the future” that affects all of humanity.
From the genesis of science fiction to its
Golden Age and from the history, goals and methods of futures studies to its
major theories and visions of the future, Thomas Lombardo in Contemporary
Futurist Thought tells the story of the wondrous drama of the future. He has
written a masterpiece …. This book is essential reading for every futurist. And
it is essential, too, for any reader who wants to know what the future holds.
Wendell Bell
Professor Emeritus
Yale University
“An awesome (and ambitious) synthesis of many
people and ideas… For an overview of generalist futures thought and sci-fi,
Lombardo’s work is the equal of quite different overviews by Wendell Bell, Ed
Cornish, and Rick Slaughter.”
Michael
Marien
Future Survey
Copthorne
Macdonald's review of Contemporary Futurist Thought submitted to
Amazon.com
The story of the future and us
- 5 Stars on Amazon
I can't imagine
a more comprehensive look at humanity's interest in, study of, and planning for
our future than Thomas Lombardo has presented us with in his two recently
published books, THE EVOLUTION OF FUTURE CONSCIOUSNESS, which focuses on the
nature and development of "future consciousness" from ancient times through the
19th century, and CONTEMPORARY FUTURIST THOUGHT which focuses on expressions of
future consciousness in the 20th and 21st centuries.
In CONTEMPORARY
FUTURIST THOUGHT, Lombardo reviews in detail several 20th and 21st-century
movements, or centers of interest and activity, that focus on the future. They
include the science fiction phenomenon from Jules Verne and H.G. Wells to recent
movies and TV shows, "future studies" in its academic and professional forms,
and a concluding section on "Theories and Paradigms of the Future."
I found this
last section particularly interesting. Here, Lombardo presents a wide range of
contemporary views. Some of these are deterministic; they argue for a
predetermined future of one kind or another. Others argue for a future
determined by human values and conscious decisions. Lombardo notes that, "A
common position held by many members of The World Future Society is that the
future is a set of possibilities rather than one definite trajectory. Because
the future is possibilities, humans have a choice in what future will be
realized. Most futurists in fact talk as if they believe that the decisions made
today will influence what our future will be like. We are not passive victims of
supernatural destiny or natural laws."
I resonated
deeply with Lombardo's closing statement: "I think that the cultivation of
wisdom is an essential ingredient to creating a positive future. Wisdom
integrates intellect, emotion, and action. Wisdom is grounded in an expansive
awareness of the whole that acknowledges and values other people and their
points of view, and involves the recognition of human fallibility and the need
for courage, faith, and tempered optimism in the face of the uncertainty of the
future. Wisdom is the highest expression of human development and future
consciousness. If our minds are evolving and we are moving toward a New
Enlightenment, then I would suggest that the essence of the New Enlightenment
will be the individual and collective development of wisdom."
Once in a
while a book is written that brings together emerging ideas and historical
context that spawned those ideas. In his new book, Contemporary Futurist
Thought, Tom Lombardo has struck just the right balance between the
evolution of futurist thinking, from H.G. Wells to Alvin Toffler, and how
newly emerging concepts are fundamental to the transformation of our world
as we shift from an Industrial Age to a Biological Age based on an explosion
of new knowledge. Dr. Lombardo brings together a brilliant analysis of the
impact of a hundred years of science fiction, and, at the same time,
introduces the reader to cutting edge 21st century thinking in a
rare synthesis of intellectual force and compelling drama that helps to
explain this age of historical transformation. Contemporary Futurist Thought
is both readable and excitedly challenging, and should be required reading,
whether a student in high school or college, a city manager, a local leader
or a business entrepreneur. Effective decisions for a constantly changing
society cannot be made in a vacuum or in a context of traditional and
obsolete thinking. Contemporary Futurist Thought provides a needed context
of futures thinking readymade for those individuals who want to make a
difference and help give meaning to the emerging 21st century.
Rick
Symre
President - Communities of the Future
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