Image of the Future
* Book: The Image of the Future. By FRED POLAK. Jossey-Bass / Elsevierf, 1973
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"I have long felt that the original version of The Image of the Future was one of the most significant works of the twentieth century." - Kenneth Boulding (foreword)
Contextual Citations
1.
"The human condition can almost be summed up in the observation that, whereas all experiences are of the past, all decisions are about the future. It is the great task of human knowledge to bridge this gap and to find those patterns in the past which can be projected into the future as realistic images. The image of the future, therefore, is the key to all choice-oriented behavior. The general character and quality of the images of the future which prevail in a society is therefore the most important clue to its overall dynamics. The individual's image of the future is likewise the most significant determinant of his personal behavior."
- Kenneth Boulding (foreword)
2.
"Polak is very explicit that in this book he is concerned with the future in Western culture only, and that he is analyzing images of possible futures on this world. Taking the task of image-making for the future very seriously, he ruled out fantasies about other worlds as just that - fantasies. The timeliness of Polak's book today is that it marks the end of that part of human history in which man could trace out one part of the global cultural heritage and have it make sense, and it also marks the end of the time when thought about human life elsewhere than on earth was only a fantasy. Intellectually and spiritually, man is hardly ready to face the implications of a common global heritage on earth, or of cosmic belongingness in the universe. Polak's Image of the Future can help disoriented Western man get his bearings, understand the road he has traveled, and thus help him face the task of image-working for the now-incredible futures which lie before him.
The pessimistic tone of the second part of The Image of the Future, as Polak depicts moment-ridden man trapped in a moment-bound culture, never gives way to despair. At every turn, the author reminds us that there still is a turning possible, that new vistas can open up. Today we are glimpsing these new vistas, and Polak's work will help us make both more realistic and more daring use of the new chances that history is offering man."
- Elise Boulding (Translator's Preface)
Contents
PART ONE: THE PROMISED LAND
I. The Future as a Work of Reconstruction
1. Basic Concepts: Time, Images, and the Future
2. Image and Actuality
II. Images of the Future from Western Civilization
3. Oldest Sources
4. Hellas
5. Persia
6. Israel
7. Christianity
8. The Realm of the Future in the Middle Ages
9. The Renaissance as a Renaissance of Utopism
10. The Image of the Future: Guiding Star of the Age of Enlightenment
11. The Image of the Future: Primary Source of Socialism and Marxism
12. The Image of the Future: Conductor of the Age of Progress
13. The Future Becomes Present and Past
III. Dynamics of the Image of the Future
14. The Image of History and the Image of the Future 162
15. The Unchanging Historical Task of the Changing Utopia 176
PART TWO: ICONOCLASM OF THE IMAGES OF THE FUTURE
IV. Devastation of the Image of the Future
16. De-utopianizing
17. De-eschatologizing
V. The Breach in Our Time
18. Timeless Time
VI. The Broken Future of Western Culture
19. The Future of the Christian Belief-System
20. Other Cultural Components and Their Future
21. A Modern Depth Psychology: Trigger or Barrier to Rebirth?
22. Art and Culture.
23. Socio-Cultural Dynamics
24. New Perspectives