Alliterative logic: A theory for postnormal times

Explaining and critiquing the postnormal: A warning against ideologies in the field of futures and foresight

“…Postnormal times (spelled without dash by its proponent) is a conceptual framework that expands on the notion of post-normal science. It was originally proposed by Ziauddin Sardar in an introductory article (Sardar, 2010) and then further developed over the following years by its proponent and other authors, primarily within the field of futures and foresight (Cole, 2011;Gidley, 2010;Jones et al, 2021;Mayo, 2020;Ringland, 2010;Sardar, 2015aSardar, , 2015bSardar, , 2019Sardar, , 2021aSardar, , 2021b. Like post-normal science, postnormal times also has two objectives and, still much like post-normal science, such dual nature of the framework is not explicitly elaborated in it.…”

“…The reasons why it is missing can be separated in two arguments.First argument: postnormal times lacks objectivity as a theory of societal change hypothesizing that societies are more complex, more chaotic, and more contradictory. Indeed, what the framework characterizes as more complex, chaotic, and contradictory is representative of some phenomena, not all, as it is based on selected examples that do not necessarily represent the big picture (Cole, 2011). Indeed, in some respects, human societies have stayed remarkably the same.…”

“…Yet complexity, chaos, and contradictions are not new at all.Second argument: as a theory about the changing nature of subjective feelings about change, the framework also misses the mark. First, it is not empirically verified that the feelings postnormal times discusses were not there before, as people of all ages must have all felt chaos and uncertainty ahead (Cole, 2011). This is especially the case if one considers any period of history centuries before us, when war, famine, and political instability were even more common and rife (Pinker, 2012).…”

Postnormal times revisited

“…He suggests that the triad constitute an Alliterative Logic, and 5 traces the origins of this logic to the fourteenth century Black Death. The critique is based on the assumption/assertion that ‗in the absence of empirical connection between ideas, humans theorize through alliterative word-triads' (Cole 2011). Fortunately, there is no lack of evidence of ‗empirical connection' for the advocates of postnormalcy.…”

The Perfect Postnormal Storm: COVID-19 Chronicles (2020 Edition)

“…Ziauddin Sardar welcomed us to postnormal times a decade ago in a germinal 2010 article that proposed a new theoretical approach to provide a better understanding of how change is unfolding in the 21st century. Sardar’s initial description of postnormal times theory generated substantial interest within the futures studies field ( Gary 2010 ; Markley 2011 , 2012 ; Montuori 2010 ; Ringland 2010 ) and criticism ( Cairns 2017 ; Cole 2010 ; Cubbit, Hassan, and Volkmer 2010 ; Gidley 2010 ; Kapoor 2010 ). Sardar (2015) responded to criticisms and, further, presented a timeline of how various civilizational artifacts such as meaning, truth, knowledge, world order, and governance have been transformed over time from the classic period to modern, postmodern, and then to contemporary postnormal times.…”