Implications of two new paradigms for futures studies
Section snippets
Antecedents and main theoretical–methodological problems
What has most characterized the road covered by studies of futures up to the 1980s was its emergence as an independent and structured field of science and as an independent sphere of social activity. Despite the fact that the theory and methodology of futures research had crystallized and solidified, studies of futures had by no means become united. The paradigmatic differences interpreted according to Kuhn remained palpable [14]. This was most detectable in the cultivation of two differing
Evolutionary futures studies
In the opinion of the representatives of evolutionary futures studies, doing studies of futures is not satisfactory because their subjects are simplified and their theories, applied methodology and methods are not adequate to explore reality in constant change or its future conditions. What kind of future does and must futures studies examine when profound changes are taking place? The answer evolutionary futures studies provides to this question is that it should be a kind of future that is
Shift in paradigms with rival paradigms
The new trends in futures studies not only further developed futures research so that by the 1980s it had become an independent branch of science and a sphere of social activity, but also has the potential to renew it paradigmatically. Seeing that they share the same premises but react in different ways to them and formulate differing answers, the new trends constitute alternative, rival paradigms within contemporary futures studies.
Conclusion
The comparative analysis of these trends in futures studies shows that they are closely related to the renewal of the field. They contribute to the further development of its knowledge base by providing a new impulse, a methodological framework and methods for the practice of futures studies. Both new trends develop futures studies through a shift in paradigms and contribute to enabling futures studies to meet the challenges of the turn of the millennium. They also embody alternative paradigms
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