A personal agenda for the 21st century (2000) The 21st century looks as though it will be a ‘make’ or ‘break’ time for humanity. Present trends do not encourage optimism. But there are many ways that humans can act to develop foresight and to ‘steer’ toward more consciously chosen futures. The paper considers ‘inner’ and…
Towards a Critical Futurism Part 1: Critique (1984) With this article British futurist Richard Slaughter begins a three-part look at the futures field today and how a re-evaluation of key assumptions could enhance the applicability and impact of futures studies throughout the world. Read more…. Towards a Critical Futurism Part 2: Revising and Refining…
Scanning the macro environment for signals of change can be a daunting experience. But when links that imply a particular pattern keep getting stronger, or more frequently expressed, you know that something is happening that may require closer attention. Over the last few years, for example, evidence that the digital revolution has been compromised has…
By now you will have heard of some ‘next big things’ such as ‘augmented reality,’ ‘self-driving cars’ and the ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT). Yet chances are that you won’t have heard about them from neighbours, friends, relatives or workmates since claims for their alleged benefits don’t usually come from them. Rather, they are one of…
The Foresight Principle: Cultural Recovery in the 21st Century. Richard A. Slaughter, Westport, CT: Praeger and London: Adamantine Press Ltd., 1995 Introduction: The Future Is Not What It Used To Be In the post-dotcom crash world, mentioning Futures Studies to an audience usually conjures up associative images of Futurehype: Alvin Toffler analysing the Persian Gulf…
Review : Futures for the Third Millennium : Enabling the Forward View, Richard A Slaughter, Prospect Media, Australia. 1999. ISBN : 1 86316 148 1. Pp 368. Price : AUD $39.95. Futures for the Third Millennium covers a lot of territory – the inadequacy of the Modern worldview, futures in education, foresight institutions and practices,…
Practitioner Reviews of Futures Thinking for Social Foresight Richard A Slaughter with Marcus Bussey, Tamkang University Press, 2006, 2012 Futures Thinking for Social Foresight provides an exciting compendium of practical ideas for the classroom. It is a ‘must’ for all teachers who wish to help their students understand the nature of change in society today,…
Futures in Education: Principles, Practice and Potential, Gidley, G., Bateman, D. & Smith, C. Commissioning Editor Slaughter, R. AFI Monograph Series, No. 5. 2004. Swinburne University, Melbourne. 94 pp. + viii. The AFI monograph, Futures in Education: Principles, practice and potential by Jennifer Gidley, Debra Bateman and Caroline Smith is a welcome and valuable reference…
Futures Beyond Dystopia: Creating Social Foresight The following reviews are only available in pdf hence are provided in a different format than most others here. Booked on the Titanic. A Review of Futures Beyond Dystopia, Ian Lowe, Griffith University, Brisbane, 2004. (To open click here) New books by leading futurists (Futuring, by Edward Cornish; The Biggest…
Futures Beyond Dystopia: Creating Social Foresight. Richard A. Slaughter (Director, Australian Foresight Institute, Swinburne U of Technology, Melbourne). Foreword by Ken Wilber. London & NY: RoutledgeFalmer, Jan 2004/306p/$24.99pb. Michael Marien, Future Survey, 2004 Recently published essays by the President of the World Futures Studies Federation, who views the affluent world we are living in as…