This book examines the growing importance of the future within the social and human sciences. It argues that, while these disciplines have traditionally been oriented towards the interpretation of the past, contemporary scientific and social developments increasingly require a future-oriented perspective. By shifting attention from past causes to future possibilities, the book proposes a reconsideration of the conceptual foundations of the sciences themselves. Within this framework, past experience is no longer understood primarily as a determinant of behavior, but as a source of information about possible futures and alternative courses of action. Questions of anticipation, choice, and possibility thereby play a big role. Bringing together conceptual, methodological, and interdisciplinary reflections, this book offers the first comprehensive study of the role of the future across the social and human sciences. By opening new directions for research, teaching, and practical application, it is of interest to scholars concerned with the changing foundations of scientific inquiry.

Roberto Poli (PhD Utrecht) is Professor of Philosophy of Science and the UNESCO Chair on Anticipatory Systems at the University of Trento (Italy). Poli teaches Social Foresight and Epistemology of the Social Sciences; he directs the Master in Social Foresight, currently in its tenth edition. Poli is the President of AFI-Association of Italian Futurists, and Skopìa, a company offering professional anticipation services. Poli has published 7 volumes and more than 250 papers. He is in the Stanford list of the most quoted scholars.