“Our technology will be nearly unrecognizable, but what we do with it remains the most important thing of all.”
In the preceding pages, we described the most visible characteristics of the four versions of Ghent in 2040. We can consider these as the ‘tip of the iceberg’ and look for what’s underneath. Therefore, the central question in this part is: What is behind the most recognizable characteristics of the four outlined realities? Layer by layer, we will dig a little deeper.
The first layer: facts. At the surface of every phenomenon in a society or in an organization is the most visible: events, actions, conflicts… Therefore, we will describe this first layer of each script on the basis of a news title. Of course, more new facts may occur in each of the four worlds. We select one example for each script.
The underlying systems are in the second layer. An objective analysis can be performed on every news fact, uncovering a cause-and-effect chain. This clarifies the systems that support the facts in the scripts.
The third layer elucidates worldviews. Specific worldviews lurk behind the systems we use to understand and control the facts. These are interpretations of how people and things are interconnected and evolve together.
The final step revolves around embedded metaphors. We uncover the deep-rooted stories, myths, or metaphors that form the actual basis for the facts from 2040. These narratives are paramount to realize efficacious changes: Only if the story which supports our visions changes, the city of the future, its people, and its technology can change accordingly.
The four layered realities we describe here were compiled by the research team based on the Causal Layered Analysis1 scripting session and the backcasting at the end of the process.
Read: Inayatullah, S. and Milojevic, I. (2015). CLA 2.0: Transformative research in theory and practice. Tamsui: Tamkang University Press.
