Ruben Nelson

Nelson, Ruben

Nelson, Ruben

Executive Director, Foresight Canada;
Fellow, World Academy of Art and Science

Job Title: 

Executive Director, Foresight Canada;
Fellow, World Academy of Art and Science

Ruben F. W. Nelson is Executive Director of Foresight Canada – a Canadian not-for-profit dedicated to nurturing the practice of the next generation of strategic foresight at a high professional level. He is Canada’s most experienced teacher and practitioner of strategic foresight and futures research. In 1960, he Co-Chaired what may have been the first formal futures conference in Canada. In 1976, he was one of the founders of the Canadian Association of Futures Studies, and subsequently its third President. He has served as Treasurer and a member of the Executive Board of the World Futures Studies Federation. His primary research interest is in the long evolution of human consciousness, cultures and civilizations. He is particularly interested in the emergence, flowering, decline and transformation of the modern/Industrial form of civilization and the possibility of the emergence of a truly post- modern/Industrial form of civilization. His formal training is in philosophy, political theory and theology.

ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR

Civilizational Paradigm Change: The Modern/Industrial Case
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The intent of this paper is to put a fundamental, if not yet urgent, question on the table for further exploration and discussion. We proceed by defining our use of three key concepts: Paradigm, Culture and Form of Civilization. Then the concept of paradigm is applied to the concept of a form of civilization. The question is asked, “Is it plausible to think that we are in a truly rare time during which our dominant form of civilization (Modern/Industrial) is...
Adelaide's Lament
Get Full Text in PDF In Guys and Dolls, Adelaide laments that “the medicine never gets anywhere near where the trouble is.” As a musical number the song is fun. As an insight that too often applies to situations in which we are deeply enmeshed, it is no fun at all. Systemic mistakes tend, at the least, to be embarassing, painful and expensive. They can be fatal. In the context of an extended conversation on saving the future, a truly interesting question is this, “Might the dominant geo-...