The Role of Curiosity in Futures Studies
The Role of Curiosity in Futures Studies
The Importance of Deepening Curiosity to Redefine Our Futures
Curiosity, in its purest form, is the engine that drives human imagination, the force that pushes us to explore the unknown and challenge the established. However, in an era dominated by immediacy and efficiency, this curiosity seems to be in danger of extinction. The relationship between curiosity and Futures Studies is profound and essential, as without a robust cultivation of curiosity, our ability to imagine and build better futures is paralyzed.
The act of challenging existing knowledge is the first step towards creating meaningful futures. In Futures Studies, curiosity is not merely a desire to know more, but a necessity to question the premises underlying our conceptions of the world. This questioning compels us to develop a deeper appreciation of existing knowledge while revealing possible flaws or gaps in prevailing thought. By identifying these flaws and creating novel bridges to overcome them, we contribute to the invention of new knowledge and, consequently, to the construction of alternative futures.
Curiosity, in this sense, is the spark that ignites the process of knowledge renewal. Without it, we become mere administrators of predetermined solutions, incapable of imagining beyond what is known. As the French philosopher Gaston Bachelard pointed out, imagination is, in the strongest sense of the word, "the faculty of deforming images provided by perception… it is especially the faculty of changing images." Without curiosity, this faculty is severely limited, and our ability to imagine and create futures is stifled.
Throughout the 20th century, knowledge has become increasingly segregated, specialized, and industrialized. Success has been associated with production, transforming the process of thought into a transactional activity, valuable only insofar as it allows the production of commoditized answers. This phenomenon has led to the devaluation of curiosity and the predominance of an emphasis on action over reflection.
This obsession with action, as described by South Korean philosopher Byung-Chul Han in his work The Burnout Society, has led to "meaningless hyperactivity," where mere activity is valued over deep contemplation and inquiry. This shift in social valuation has contributed to the erosion of the culture of curiosity, transforming it into a rarity rather than a norm.
In this context, Futures Studies face a crucial challenge: to restore curiosity as a fundamental practice for the construction of futures. Curiosity must be seen not as a mere tool, but as a radical act of resistance against conformity and passive acceptance of the status quo. This radical approach is necessary to address the growing complexity of today's world, where simple solutions are no longer sufficient.
The problems we face today are multidimensional and require interdisciplinary approaches, diverse perspectives, and the ability to remix existing knowledge into new combinations adapted to each situation. As Audre Lorde noted, "there is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives." This statement underscores the need for a more holistic and curious approach to futures construction, where simply replicating past models is no longer adequate.
When curiosity is translated into an inquiry-based methodology, it has the power to transform the way we live. The technological and scientific tools we possess today are impressive, but the crises of our time are not commercial, technological, or scientific; they are, at their core, humanistic. We need deep inquiry into the assumptions and inherited design of modern human experience. How will we live, learn, work, play, and sustain ourselves in the 21st century?
The answers to these questions do not lie in pre-packaged solutions, but rather in the ability to challenge the underlying assumptions that have shaped our world. Paraphrasing Hannah Arendt in her work The Human Condition, "thought without a ground to root itself is empty." Curiosity allows us to root our thinking in the fertile soil of imagination and the creation of new paradigms, which is essential for Futures Studies.
To save, preserve, and enhance our curiosity, we must adopt an appetite not just for questioning, but for radical questioning. The term "radical" comes from the Late Latin radicālis, which derives from the Latin radix, meaning "root." Radical questioning is necessary because it is the roots, the essential bases of current problems, which must be unearthed and interrogated.
We face a unique opportunity to reimagine our world. Today, we are witnessing existential disruptions in the inherited narratives that shape our society. Futures Studies, at its core, is an act of radical imagination, a refusal to accept the world as it is, and a commitment to creating the world as it could be. Only through curiosity can we rediscover our ability to be authors of our own destinies, to imagine futures that challenge and surpass the limits of what is known.