The Evolution of the Concept of the"Future"and Its Perspectives in the History of Communication Thought
The essay begins by outlining three conceptual clusters of the"future":theological prophecy,utopianism,and science fiction.It then focuses on the significant changes in the concept of the future since the 19th century,particularly the processes of rationalization and scientization.These transformations stem from societal upheavals and the rapid devaluation of the past,driven by the influences of systems theory,information theory,and control theory.Non-deterministic teleology redefined the prevailing relationship between temporality and the future,and the field of futures studies adopted ideas and technologies from military paradigms to explore social inquiries.In recent years,the future has found new expression through the development of modern technologies in information processing and decision-making by computers and cybernetic devices.Works by futurists,such as*The Third Wave*,*The Coming of Post-Industrial Society*,and*Future Shock*,positioned information as the driving force behind social change.This vision of the future has spread globally,profoundly impacting contemporary China's social processes and influencing the paradigm of journalism and communication studies.Futurism has contributed a wealth of resources and intellectual legacy to the history of communication thought,particularly in how the future has been imagined since the industrial wave,the futurist trend in China,and the futuristic tendencies within journalism and communication studies.
futureinformation communication technologyfuturismhistory of thought
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