Skip to main content
  • Book
  • © 2019

Future Studies and Counterfactual Analysis

Seeds of the Future

Palgrave Macmillan
  • Builds on previous futures research by considering possible outcomes of current global anxieties
  • Weaves careful description of current issues and historical events with hypothetical future scenarios to provide engaging, thoughtful analysis
  • Engages with timely topics, such as truth and the role of technology

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check for access.

Table of contents (14 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xii
  2. Introduction

    • Theodore J. Gordon, Mariana Todorova
    Pages 1-9
  3. True or False

    • Theodore J. Gordon, Mariana Todorova
    Pages 11-31
  4. Proliferation: Doomsday or Politics?

    • Theodore J. Gordon, Mariana Todorova
    Pages 33-50
  5. The Bounds of Humanity

    • Theodore J. Gordon, Mariana Todorova
    Pages 51-59
  6. The Beginning and Hereafter

    • Theodore J. Gordon, Mariana Todorova
    Pages 61-68
  7. Immortality

    • Theodore J. Gordon, Mariana Todorova
    Pages 69-81
  8. Religion

    • Theodore J. Gordon, Mariana Todorova
    Pages 83-89
  9. Decision Making: The Talent for Decisions

    • Theodore J. Gordon, Mariana Todorova
    Pages 91-106
  10. Dealing with Bio-terrorism

    • Theodore J. Gordon, Mariana Todorova
    Pages 107-117
  11. Our Computer Overlords

    • Theodore J. Gordon, Mariana Todorova
    Pages 119-126
  12. What Constitutes Progress?

    • Theodore J. Gordon, Mariana Todorova
    Pages 127-140
  13. Political Chaos

    • Theodore J. Gordon, Mariana Todorova
    Pages 141-151
  14. The Perfect Human

    • Theodore J. Gordon, Mariana Todorova
    Pages 153-159
  15. Conclusions

    • Theodore J. Gordon, Mariana Todorova
    Pages 161-167
  16. Back Matter

    Pages 169-194

About this book

In this volume, the authors contribute to futures research by placing the counterfactual question in the future tense. They explore the possible outcomes of future, and consider how future decisions are turning points that may produce different global outcomes. This book focuses on a dozen or so intractable issues that span politics, religion, and technology, each addressed in individual chapters. Until now, most scenarios written by futurists have been built on cause and effect narratives or depended on numerical models derived from historical relationships. In contrast, many of the scenarios written for this book are point descriptions of future discontinuities, a form allows more thought-provoking presentations. Ultimately, this book demonstrates that counterfactual thinking and point scenarios of discontinuities are new, groundbreaking tools for futurists.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Millennium Project, Old Lyme, USA

    Theodore J. Gordon

  • Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Mariana Todorova

About the authors

Mr. Theodore J. Gordon, co-founder of the Millennium Project, the Institute for the Future, and the Futures Group, Inc., is a well- known futurist and senior author of this book. He has authored many books and professional papers, and in past years was Chief Engineer for the Apollo 3rd Stage lunar rocket.

Dr. Mariana Todorova, PhD is a researcher at Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and has been a Member of the Bulgarian Parliament. Todorova is a Chair of Millennium project Bulgarian node. She is building a new methodology of forecasting based on counterfactual analysis. She is an analyst, futurist, strategist, and trend tracker.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Future Studies and Counterfactual Analysis

  • Book Subtitle: Seeds of the Future

  • Authors: Theodore J. Gordon, Mariana Todorova

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18437-7

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-18436-0Published: 28 June 2019

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-18439-1Published: 14 August 2020

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-18437-7Published: 14 June 2019

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XII, 194

  • Number of Illustrations: 1 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Science and Technology Studies, Artificial Intelligence, Innovation/Technology Management

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access