Stumbling towards the light: Four decades of a life in futures

Abstract

This Virtual Curated Special Issue comprises 33 of Richard’s Slaughter’s publications in Futures Journal, alongside commentaries on their themes and the contribution that Richard’s work has had on individual scholars and practitioners as well the broader futures studies community. Thirteen contributors have offered reflections covering six key themes of his work, namely critical commentary on futures; critical and integral futures; education, young people and futures; futures and foresight methods and strategies; twenty first century/Anthropocene; and curating futures knowledge. Over Richard’s career, with influences from him as well as others, methodological practices in future studies have developed from external scanning and analysis to encompass these themes. If there’s any single notion that flows through the author’s own journey it’s the primacy of the human and cultural interiors and the clarity that comes from seeing how they interact with the external, empirically measurable world. What also becomes clear in this view is that worldviews, cultures and values are every bit as significant as technique and technology. Futures work needs a new role, new levels of recognition and a more credible stance in helping our species to awaken from its long, dangerous dream of dominance and power.