Prophecies of doom and scenarios of progress : Herman Kahn, Julian Simon, and the prospective imagination /
Paul Dragos Aligica.
- xiv, 112 pages ; 24 cm
Includes bibliographical references (pages 107-109) and index.
Introduction -- The Great Transition and the Limits to Growth -- The Resourceful Earth versus Global 2000 -- The Historical and Macro-Sociological Background: The Great Transition -- The Pro-Growth Momentum -- The Cultural Contradictions of Economic Growth -- Psychology, Mass Media and the Rhetoric of Bad News -- The Epistemic Angle: Organizational and Institutional -- The Epistemic Angle: Conceptual and Substantive -- In Search of Solutions -- Dealing with the Challenge of the Future: Approaches and Methods -- The Dichotomies Defining a Realistic and Accurate Approach -- The Economic Way of Thinking -- Broad Studies and the Challenge of Expert Knowledge -- The Institutionalization of Interdisciplinarity -- The Heuristic and Propaedeutic Dimensions -- Scenarios, Alternative Futures and the Method of Classes of Variables -- Limits and Challenges -- The Role of Knowledge in Society -- An Emerging Paradigm: The Foundations -- The Ontological Dimension: Open Systems and Entropy -- The Social Philosophy Dimension: Evolution, Social Exchange and Creativity -- The Epistemological Dimension: Pragmatic and Eclectic Operationalism -- The Axiological Dimension: Values as Constitutive Principles and Policy Yardsticks -- The Value of Truth -- Conclusions. 1. 2. 3.