The way of visionaries: foresight and imagination, computed

Robert Hogenraad ()
Additional contact information
Robert Hogenraad: Université catholique de Louvain

Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, 2021, vol. 55, issue 5, No 5, 1660 pages

Abstract: Abstract Do foresight and imagination change in the words of power elites? We first extract information present in stories with a text mining tool equipped with text-analytical filters, the ‘Foresight’ and ‘Imagination’ lexicons. We also convert Kermode’s views on time in novels into computable data drawn from the ‘Foresight’ lexicon. We then test these views on tales of scattered episodes—Sartre’s “Nausea” or Murdoch’s “Under the Net” for example. Our lexicons are then tested on novels showing concordance between beginning and end—James’ “The Bostonians” or Joyce’s “Ulysses”—where each episode leads to the next. The ‘Imagination’ lexicon of words that transcend time and space is tested on fantasies: such as Kerouac’s “On the Road”—a spiritual and endless search—and Rushdie’s “Midnight’s Children”, places where boundaries between the real and the unreal collapse. The last step and basic target entails rolling out each confirmed lexicon on power elites’ speeches, casting into sharp relief how foresight and imagination take shape over time. The era explored resonates with extreme events. Foresight and imagination unfold disparately in power elites. Imagination increases in the Bilderberg Reports (1954–2002), and the speeches of Pope Francis (2013–2018), President Xi (2012–2019), and President Tusk (EU Council, 2014–2018), but droops in President Draghi (ECB, 2011–2018). Foresight goes up in the Bilderberg Reports and partway in Pope Francis; it weakens in President Xi, declines in President Tusk and flattens in President Draghi. Except for the Bilderberg group, power elites do not seem to understand the present, essential for foreseeing.

Keywords: Foresight; Imagination; Time; Stories and power elites’ speeches; Lexicons; Text mining (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11135-020-01071-w Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:qualqt:v:55:y:2021:i:5:d:10.1007_s11135-020-01071-w

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/economics/journal/11135

DOI: 10.1007/s11135-020-01071-w

Access Statistics for this article

Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology is currently edited by Vittorio Capecchi

More articles in Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().