Listening to the Wind of Change: Social Forecasting through the Lens of a Transdisciplinary Approach

T. V. Danylova

doi:10.15802/ampr.v0i26.319688

Authors

T. V. Danylova The Graduate School for Social Research, Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland; Institute of Social and Political Psychology of the National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0297-9473

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15802/ampr.v0i26.319688

Keywords:

human being, future, transdisciplinarity, forecasting, social world, uncertainty, reality, subject, object

Abstract

Purpose. This paper aims to explore social forecasting through the lens of a transdisciplinary approach with respect to holistic human nature. Theoretical basis. The complexity of social forecasting is that it deals with the multifaceted phenomenon of a human being, a human who is both the creator and the creation of the social spaces, for whom all economic, social, political, scientific, cultural achievements, problems and prospects acquire meaning only in the context of him/herself, his/her life, his/her destiny. Thus, the phenomenon of a human being is the key to understanding the dynamics of modern transformational processes and to creating promising models of the future development of the human society. Since in forecasting we try to anticipate the future that is not yet defined and may have different development trajectories, a transdisciplinary approach to forecasting that embraces what is within disciplines, at the intersection of disciplines, and beyond all disciplines can become the most fruitful approach. Originality. A human being brings a high degree of unpredictability and uncertainty into all social forecasts. Nowadays, the complex multifaceted nature of an individual as a biological, psychological, and social being needs a deeper understanding that requires joint efforts of representatives of various scientific fields. Through mutually enriching work within a transdisciplinary paradigm, representatives of different scientific fields and directions may create a kind of guidebook designed to form and explain a new reality, a new future. Within such an approach, not a competition between theories, methodologies, and protocol decisions, but a common goal, common dreams and aspirations for a better future of humanity should come to the fore. Conclusions. A transdisciplinary approach to social forecasting has a potential to consider all sciences in a humanitarian context, taking into account complex multifaceted human nature. It goes beyond traditional boundaries providing opportunities not only to synthesize and integrate solutions to a problem, but also to rise above it. Transdisciplinarity, recognizing the existence of different realities, provides a broader view of the world, a deeper understanding of phenomena and processes that contribute to the development of new projects for a better future of a human and humanity.

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