Book contents
- Progress Unchained
- Progress Unchained
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Preface
- 1 Introduction
- Part I The Ladder of Progress and the End of History
- Part II Towards a World of Unlimited Possibilities
- 7 Darwinian Visions
- 8 The Uniqueness of Humans
- 9 Branching Out
- 10 Towards an Uncertain Future
- 11 Epilogue
- Bibliography
- Index
10 - Towards an Uncertain Future
from Part II - Towards a World of Unlimited Possibilities
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 February 2021
- Progress Unchained
- Progress Unchained
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Preface
- 1 Introduction
- Part I The Ladder of Progress and the End of History
- Part II Towards a World of Unlimited Possibilities
- 7 Darwinian Visions
- 8 The Uniqueness of Humans
- 9 Branching Out
- 10 Towards an Uncertain Future
- 11 Epilogue
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Thinkers who saw technological innovation as the way forward now had to accept that there could be no static utopia in the future: society would be in a continual state of change. There was an increased emphasis on thinking about the future rather than the past, since it was less clear that history offered a model by which future developments could be predicted. The hope of creating a planned society was replaced by the notion of the 'technological fix' that dealt with the often unanticipated by-products of innovations pioneered as beneficial. Futurology emerged as a discipline aimed at anticipating developments, although its efforts were often wide of the mark. Enthusiasts predicted a range of possible futures based on different technologies, some involving the move to a completely transhuman phase of life. Science fiction emerged as a genre providing commentary on these scenarios, often recognizing the potential disadvantages.
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- Progress UnchainedIdeas of Evolution, Human History and the Future, pp. 248 - 266Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021
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