Predicting the Future
Humankind’s future in the twenty-first century seems to be precarious and unpredictable – a mirror of a present dominated by ecological crises, cultural conflict, and economic instability.
In this pessimistic light, is it possible or necessary to imagine a better future, or an alternative present? How can we prepare for and evaluate
different possible futures?
Reflecting and guiding public interest in this field, a public lecture series on Utopia: Perfectly Possible? asked four prominent speakers – a historian, an environmentalist, an astronomer and a political theorist – to present their vision of how better worlds might be imagined and constructed. Although they approached the topic from different angles, these lectures universally stressed the value of imagining ‘Utopia’ in overcoming the specific problems of the present.
Indeed, the wider Fellowship work of one speaker, Russell Jacoby, suggested that ‘Utopian thinking’ is an inherent part of human development. Looking particularly at young people, Jacoby observed that children in play create imagined worlds – dolls’ houses, fantasy realms – and shape them to their idealised vision. However, Jacoby warned that as children spend increasing amounts of time playing video games, this may affect their ability to imagine and conceptualise their future.
That Jacoby’s warning is not merely an impulsive reaction against a new technology was confirmed by Remembering the Future. Early life experiences strongly influence the way in which people behave towards others, form stereotypes, and how they make decisions in relation to
Utopia: Perfectly Possible?
This series of public lectures considered how we can conceptualise a better future for ourselves and for future generations.
Russell Jacoby The Ends of Utopia Revisited Jonathon Porritt Must Utopia be Sustainable? Martin Rees The World in 2050 Krishan Kumar The Ends of Utopia
future events. This event brought together neuroscientists, psychologists and anthropologists to explore how memory mechanisms are formed and refined from an early age, and how this affects social interactions. With the recent installation of the University’s new fMRI brain scanner at the James Cook University hospital, this international conference helped to establish a network of partners who will be working with the University over the coming years to develop its research in neuroscience and developmental psychology.
At a deep biological level, then, human abilities to think about the future are shaped by and shape their social context. Not surprisingly, therefore, the stories people construct about the future not only look forwards in time – they also reflect the culture from which they are projected. Understanding Utopian or Dystopian thought in different cultures therefore offers one way of achieving meaningful social and political insight in the present. For example, Henrietta Mondry analysed the work of the contemporary Russian author and newspaper editor, Alexander Prokhanov. He writes about the future in terms of a concept known as ‘New Eurasia,’ which Mondry refers to as ‘Russia’s new dangerous ideology.’ Mondry examined the literary qualities of Prokhanov’s novels and journalism so as to better understand an ethnic belief system that may eventually influence Russia’s public and political sphere.
Russell Jacoby’s Insights response to ‘The Future of Utopia?’ can be found at:
www.durham.ac.uk/ias/insights/volume4/article6/
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