Here are some academic articles by some other postconventional futurists (futurists that challenge the status quo, and generally include other ways of knowing, such as the intuitive and spiritual).
These are colleagues of mine, and you will note some similar themes to those found in my own writing.
The photo is of Australia's leading futurist, Sohail Inayatullah.
Written by Sohail Inayatullah on Poststructuralism as method
In the context of using poststructuralism as a research method, this article introduces a new futures research method—causal layered analysis (CLA). Causal layered analysis is concerned less with predicting a particular future and more with opening up the present and past to create alternative futures. It focuses less on the horizontal spatiality of futures—in contrast to techniques such as emerging issues analysis, scenarios and backcasting—and more on the vertical dimension of futures studies, of layers of analysis. Causal layered analysis opens up space for the articulation of constitutive discourses, which can then be shaped as scenarios. Rick Slaughter considers it a paradigmatic method that reveals deep worldview committments behind surface phenomena.1 Writes Slaughter, ‘Causal layered analysis... provides a richer account of what is being studied than the more common empiricist or predictive orientation which merely ’skims the surface’. But because mastery of the different layers calls for critical and hermeneutic skills that originate in the humanities, some futures practitioners may find the method challenging at first.2
Written by Sohail Inayatullah on
In the context of using poststructuralism as a research method, this article introduces a new futures research method—causal layered analysis (CLA). Causal layered analysis is concerned less with predicting a particular future and more with opening up the present and past to create alternative futures. It focuses less on the horizontal spatiality of futures—in contrast to techniques such as emerging issues analysis, scenarios and backcasting—and more on the vertical dimension of futures studies, of layers of analysis. Causal layered analysis opens up space for the articulation of constitutive discourses, which can then be shaped as scenarios. Rick Slaughter considers it a paradigmatic method that reveals deep worldview committments behind surface phenomena.1 Writes Slaughter, ‘Causal layered analysis... provides a richer account of what is being studied than the more common empiricist or predictive orientation which merely ’skims the surface’. But because mastery of the different layers calls for critical and hermeneutic skills that originate in the humanities, some futures practitioners may find the method challenging at first.
Written by Richard Slaughter on 2006
This essay suggests that the futures field has reached a new stage in its development; one that incorporates powerful new tools, frameworks and options. Within this context the paper considers some of the ways that futurists can respond to the global predicament, re-defining what some have called the "resolutique", or arena of possible solutions. Futurists can best contribute by deliberately cultivating 'post conventional' futures practice. The underlying theme of the paper is to consider what it may mean to 'wake up' at the cultural level.
Written by Marcus Bussey on 2009
Mrcus Bussey is an Australian futurist. Here he uses Sohail Inayatullah's Causal Layered Analysis to examine the way educational discourses can be examined.
Written by Tom Lombardo on 2007
Tom Lombardo is an American futurist who examines the development of thinking about the future.
Written by David Loye on 2008
David Loye is an American psychologist and futurist who who is most widely recognised for his discovery of "Darwin's lost theory".
Written by Mick Collins, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, UK on 2010, World Futures journal
The ecological crisis is confronting humanity with a need to recognize the interconnectedness of all life, and the Akashic Field as formulated by Ervin Laszlo (2004a) has identified how a universal information field connects humans to a greater transpersonal consciousness. The Akashic Field could provide humanity with a focus to deepen its understanding of a holistic view of life. The global crisis will confront human beings with the need to develop their transpersonal potential and spiritual intelligence, which has the potential to contribute to an ecological actualization of human beings’ relationship to the world, and the development of a sustainable future.