ABSTRACT
The future as a field of study, speculation and debate continues to thrive in economic, demographic and strategic studies. It is particularly flourishing in technological and scientific studies. At the same time, theoretical and methodological porosities are markedly striking. In the first place, how do we define the future? How valid is it to seek to develop models and data when the phenomenon is not discernible? How persuasive are future projections or prescriptions given that the nature of human societies remains so complex and changeable? Is the future altogether technologically impelled? This chapter addresses some of these questions in a candid and disinterested manner. Bringing together information and ideas from the existing literature as well as the different chapters included in the present volume, the discussion adopts a more qualitative, malleable and exploratory methodological approach in studying the future, noting that seeking to generate statistics and make extrapolations on uncertain future happenings can nothing but futile, if not misleading. It also advocates that future outlooks must be investigated through multiple angels, with reflections coming from social and natural sciences.
