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Cluster 1 – Philosophical
Charles Sanders Peirce
Foundations

Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914) was the founder of American pragmatism (after about 1905 called
by Peirce “pragmaticism” in order to differentiate his views from those of William James, John Dewey,
and others, which were being labelled “pragmatism”), a theorist of logic, language, communication, and
the general theory of signs (which was often called by Peirce “semeiotic”), an extraordinarily prolific
logician (mathematical and general), and a developer of an evolutionary, psycho-physically monistic
metaphysical system. Practicing geodesy and chemistry in order to earn a living, he nevertheless
considered scientific philosophy, and especially logic, to be his true calling, his real vocation. In the
course of his polymathic researches, he wrote voluminously on an exceedingly wide range of topics,
ranging from mathematics, mathematical logic, physics, geodesy, spectroscopy, and astronomy, on the
one hand (that of mathematics and the physical sciences), to psychology, anthropology, history, and
economics, on the other (that of the humanities and the social sciences)

Charles Sanders Peirce, (born Sept. 10, 1839, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.—died April 19, 1914, near Milford,
Pa.), American scientist, logician, and philosopher who is noted for his work on the logic of relations and
on pragmatism as a method of research.

Life.

Peirce was one of four sons of Sarah Mills and Benjamin Peirce, who was Perkins professor of astronomy
and mathematics at Harvard University. After graduating from Harvard College in 1859 and spending one
year with field parties of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, Peirce entered the Lawrence Scientific
School of Harvard University, from which, in 1863, he graduated summa cum laude in chemistry.
Meanwhile, he had reentered the Survey in 1861 as a computing aide to his father, who had undertaken
the task of determining, from observations of lunar occultations of the Pleiades, the longitudes of
American survey points with respect to European ones. Much of his early astronomical work for the
Survey was done in the Harvard Observatory, in whose Annals (1878) there appeared his Photometric
Researches (concerning a more precise determination of the shape of the Milky Way Galaxy).
In 1871 his father obtained an appropriation to initiate a geodetic connection between the surveys of the
Atlantic and Pacific coasts. This cross-continental triangulation lent urgency to the need for a gravimetric
survey of North America directed toward a more precise determination of the Earth’s ellipticity, a project
that Charles was to supervise. In pursuit of this project, Peirce contributed to the theory and practice of
pendulum swinging as a means of measuring the force of gravity. The need to make accurate
measurements of lengths in his pendulum researches, in turn, led him to make a pioneer determination
of the length of the metre in terms of a wavelength of light (1877–79). Between 1873 and 1886 Peirce
conducted pendulum experiments at about 20 stations in Europe and the United States and (through
deputies) at several other places, including Grinnell Land in the Canadian Arctic.

Though his experimental and theoretical work on gravity determinations had won international
recognition for both him and the Survey, he was in frequent disagreement with its administrators from
1885 onward. The amount of time he took for the careful preparation of reports was ascribed to
procrastination. His “Report on Gravity at the Smithsonian, Ann Arbor, Madison, and Cornell” (written
1889) was never published, because of differences concerning its form and content. He finally resigned
as of the end of 1891, and, from then until his death in 1914 to content from our 1768 First Edition with
your subscription.

Peirce was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1867 and a member of the
National Academy of, he had no regular employment or income. For some years he was a consulting
chemical engineer, mathematician, and inventor.

Sciences in 1877. He presented 34 papers before the latter from 1878 to 1911, nearly a third of them in
logic (others were in mathematics, physics, geodesy, spectroscopy, and experimental psychology). He
was elected a member of the London Mathematical Society in 1880.

Work In Philosophy

Peirce’s Pragmatism was first elaborated in a series of “Illustrations of the Logic of Science” in the
Popular Science Monthly in 1877–78. The scientific method, he argued, is one of several ways of fixing
beliefs. Beliefs are essentially habits of action. It is characteristic of the method of science that it makes
its ideas clear in terms first of the sensible effects of their objects, and second of habits of action
adjusted to those effects. Here, for example, is how the mineralogist makes the idea of hardness clear:
the sensible effect of x being harder than y is that x will scratch y and not be scratched by it; and
believing that x is harder than y means habitually using x to scratch y (as in dividing a sheet of glass) and
keeping x away from y when y is to remain unscratched. By the same method Peirce tried to give equal
clarity to the much more complex, difficult, and important idea of probability. In his Harvard lectures of
1903, he identified Pragmatism more narrowly with the logic of abduction. Even his evolutionary
metaphysics of 1891–93 was a higher order working hypothesis by which the special sciences might be
guided in forming their lower order hypotheses; thus, his more metaphysical writings, with their
emphases on chance and continuity, were but further illustrations of the logic of science.

When Pragmatism became a popular movement in the early 1900s, Peirce was dissatisfied both with all
of the forms of Pragmatism then current and with his own original exposition of it, and his last productive
years were devoted in large part to its radical revision and systematic completion and to the proof of the
principle of what he by then had come to call “pragmaticism.”

His “one contribution to philosophy,” he thought, was his “new list of categories” analogous to Kant’s a
priori forms of the understanding, which he reduced from 12 to 3: Quality, Relation, and Representation.
In later writings he sometimes called them Quality, Reaction, and Mediation; and finally, Firstness,
Secondness, and Thirdness. At first he called them concepts; later, irreducible elements of concepts—the
univalent, bivalent, and trivalent elements. They appear in that order, for example, in his division of the
modalities into possibility, actuality, and necessity; in his division of signs into icons, indexes, and
symbols; in the division of symbols into terms, propositions, and arguments; and in his division of
arguments into abductions, inductions, and deductions. The primary function of the new list was to give
systematic support to this last division.

Peirce was twice married: first in 1862 to Harriet Melusina Fay, who left him in 1876, and second in 1883
to Juliette Pourtalai (née Froissy). There were no children of either marriage. For the last 26 years of his
life, he and Juliette lived on a farm on the Delaware River near Milford, Pa. He called himself a bucolic
logician, a recluse for logic’s sake. He lived his last years in serious illness and in abject poverty relieved
only by aid from such friends as William James.

Significance.

Peirce is now recognized as the most original and the most versatile intellect that the Americas have so
far produced. The recognition was slow in coming, however, and much of his work is still known only to
specialists, each grasping a small part of it, severed from its connections with the rest. Even his
Pragmatism is viewed in relation to that of other Pragmatists rather than to other parts of his own work.
A philosopher will know him also for his evolutionary metaphysics (theory of basic reality) of chance and
continuity. A mathematician may know him for his contributions to linear algebra. A logician will know
him as one of the creators of the algebra of logic—including the logic of relations; quantification theory
(on the usages of “every . . . ”, “no . . . ”, and “some . . . ”); and three-valued logic, which admits a third
truth value between true and false—and may know him also for his two systems of logical graphs, which
he called entitative and existential. A psychologist may discover in him the first modern psychologist in
the United States. A worker in semiotics will know him as co-founder of that science. A philologist may
encounter him as an authority on the pronunciation of Elizabethan English. A computer scientist may find
in one of his letters the first known sketch of the design and theory of an electric switching-circuit
computer. But all of this, and much besides, lay beyond the scope of his professional career

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen, Corrections Manager.
 Cluster 2 – Historical
Benjamin Rush
Foundations

Benjamin Rush lived from 1746-1813, and was one of the leaders in the Revolutionary movement. He
was a 1760 graduate of Princeton and also graduated from Edinburgh in 1768. He was a professor at the
College of Philadelphia when the Revolution broke out. He was one of the founders of Dickenson college,
and he spoke and wrote about education topics frequently. He was interested in many social reforms,
with one of his top priorities being reform of American education. He wanted American education to be
in line with American needs, and work along with the principles of democracy.

In 1786, Benjamin Rush produced a plan of education that he hoped would meet the needs of
democracy. He believed, along with Adams, Madison, and others, that the only security of a republic lay
in a proper education. Hence Rush wrote the monumental essay entitled "Thoughts Upon the Mode of
Education Proper in a Republic.". This essay consisted of 20 main points, each of which will be briefly
summarized here.

*Education must take place in the United States.

A general, uniform system of education needs to be established that would be adequate for all of
the essential purposes of citizenship. He believed that the United States should establish a system that
would make education in the United States preferred to an education in any other country. Rush
believed that when this was accomplished, "Our schools of learning, by producing a general, and more
uniform system of education, will render the mass of the people more homogeneous."

*Supreme regard for country.

Rush believed that above all else, a supreme regard for the United States must be established in
all citizens. In referring to students, Rush said "I wish to see a supreme regard to their country
inculcated upon them." Rush felt this to be a reasonable request because "Our country includes family,
friends and property, and should be preferred to them all." For this reason the United States would need
to establish a public system of education that would, by its character, reinforce this regard, rather than
the motives that dominated the private schools.

*Duty must be coupled with "republican principles"; with progressive development.

One of the basic beliefs of the new nation was that it was established for the progress of
mankind... It would be a mistake to train the youth of the nation in such a way that they would simply
continue the institutions that had been established. These institutions were meant to function
progressively, and so must be modified constantly. For these reasons the pupil "must be taught that
there can be no durable liberty in a republic and that government, like all other sciences, is of a
progressive nature."

*Amusements may educate for democracy.

The reconstruction of education should not stop simply with a reformation of the formal school
procedure. It should also extend into the amusements of youth, for there are "amusements that are
proper for young people in a republic." All activities that had the potential to work against the spirit of
democracy should be discouraged, and all others should be encouraged.
* A new type of education required for new type of duties and new social control.
There was an assumption after the revolution that the form of government that had been
assumed had "created a new class of duties to every American." Another assumption was that the force
of former controls had largely disappeared. Rush then concluded: "It becomes us, therefore, to examine
our former habits upon this subject, and in laying the foundations for nurseries of wise and good men, to
adapt our modes of teaching to the peculiar form of our government."

*Latin and Greek not suited to American education.

The traditional school curriculum that had previously stressed Latin and Greek needed to be
replaced by one that would function immediately.

*Education and the development of national resources

Since the people were occupying a new country, "Their principle business should be to explore
and apply its resources" and education should be modified as to carry forward these explorations and
developments with "enterprise and haste."

*Effect of devoting to science the time then spent upon the study of Greek and Latin.
The prosperity and future development of the United States depended on the advancement of
science. There was not enough time to gain both a mastery of languages and science.

* Elimination of prejudices in higher education

In the traditional college, prejudices were established against activities that had to do with
everyday life. A change in the curriculum would have to take place that would establish a direct link
between the higher schools and life. Rush believed that if such a change were brought about, "It would
greatly increase the number of students in our colleges, and thereby extend the benefits of education
throughout every part of our country."

*Curriculum suitable for American democracy

Rush outlined the following curriculum: "Let the first 8 years be employed in learning to speak,
spell, read, and write the English language. Arithmetic and some of the simpler branches of the
mathematics should be acquired between the twelfth and fourteenth years of his life. Natural history
should find a prominent place early in the education, geography should be understood and mastered by
age 12, and in place of the ancient languages should come French and German. Between the fourteenth
and eighteenth years, the pupil should be instructed in grammar, oratory, criticism, the higher branches
of mathematics, philosophy, chemistry, logic, metaphysics, chronology, history, government, the
principles of agriculture, manufactures, and in everything else that is necessary to qualify him for public
usefulness and private happiness." Rush also believed that a course of lectures should be given to teach
about the evidences, doctrines, and precepts of the Christian religion. An interesting thing about this
curriculum is that it was set up for boys alone.

* Special emphasis upon history for nationalistic culture.

For constructive citizenship, men must know the laws that govern human progress; they must
know those factors that tend to repress and those that tend to liberate. Rush believed that instruction
must be given not only in the theory of government, but also in the way in which history could be
brought to function practically in human affairs.

* Young men made by education into "republican machines"

An education should be present that would give a thoroughgrounding in democratic principles,
and at the same time would make for modification of instruments of society that would be necessary for
progress toward greater freedom.

* Education of women in citizenship; their particular duties in a republic.

"Any system of education that would render the laws of democracy effective, must provide
adequate training for women and must give them a grasp of the principles involved in a democracy, for
they must concur in all our plans of education for young men."
* Utilitarian character of female education/ peculiar duties of American womanhood.
Women had the responsibility of instructing their children, and Rush felt that they should be
prepared "by a suitable education, for the discharge of this most important duty as mothers." The
woman had to be, along with other economic and political duties, the manager of her home.

*Kind of education required

In order to carry out these various obligations, the main part of a woman's education should
consist of a mastery of the English language, and the ability to read and write well. For women, Rush set
forth this idea of the curriculum, " knowledge of figures and bookkeeping, and acquaintance with
geography and some instruction in chronology, vocal music, dancing, the reading of history, travels,
poetry, and moral essays, and to these were to be added "regular instruction in the Christian religion."
However, the purpose of a woman's education was for her to prepare the youth of her time to be
guardians of democracy...it was not for her personal betterment.

*Indigenous manners and institutions

Rush felt that "there had been developing for a considerable time a keen sense of the
incongruities of the transplanted manners, customs, and institutions, with American life. These must
become indigenous in character in order to assist rather than retard American progress.

*Schools to teach forgetting.

Rush was so convinced of the problems of copying European institutions that he suggested the
need for the establishment of special schools to develop the skill of forgetting.

*Liberation of thought and life; Society for Promoting Political Enquiries.

This organization labored for the freeing of American thought and for the creation of institutions
that would tend to free the thought and life of mankind.

*Liberal national support for educated teachers.

For any such system of education to go into effect, the nation should provide schools and
colleges adequately equipped for national purposes and should provide in these schools and colleges
teachers well qualified for their task. The schools and teachers should be so liberally supported that all of
the best talent would be attracted into the teaching profession.

The system of education that Benjamin Rush advocated demanded training for both men and
women for the understanding of the basic principles of democracy, for the understanding of the ways
that democracy might be made effective, and for creating an atmosphere and attitude for the
maintenance of democratic institutions. Rush's address delivered in 1787 entitled Thoughts Upon
Female Education, marks an important turning point in women's education. Rush makes explicit the
changes that have gradually transformed American attitudes toward the education of women. The
schools were to educate so that the youth would have the experimental attitude and see that the science
of government demanded constant improvement and readjustment according to any situation that might
arise. The schools were to be supported liberally, and staffed with well trained
teachers.

Sources used: Liberalism and American Education in the Eighteenth Century, History of the Education of Women, and
Benjamin Rush: An Intellectual Biography.
 Cluster 2 – Historical
Thomas Jefferson
Foundations

Thomas Jefferson's involvement with and support of education is best known through his
founding of the University of Virginia, which he established in 1819 as a secular institution after
he left the presidency of the United States. Jefferson believed that libraries and books were so
integral to individual and institutional education that he designed the university around its
library.

In 1779 in "A Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge," Jefferson proposed a system of
public education to be tax-funded for 3 years for "all the free children, male and female," which
was an unusual perspective for the time period. They were allowed to attend longer if their
parents, friends, or family could pay for it independently.

In his book Notes on the State of Virginia (1785), Jefferson had scribed his ideas for public
education at the elementary level. In 1817 he proposed a plan for a system of limited state
public education for males only, in keeping with the times. It depended on public grammar
schools, and further education of a limited number of the best students, and those whose
parents wanted to pay for them. The university was to be the capstone, available to only the
best selected students. Virginia did not establish free public education in the primary grades
until after the American Civil War under the Reconstruction era legislature.

Noted for: advocacy of behaviorism and its application to all aspects of psychology and life;
schedules of reinforcement; programmed learning.

“To say that a reinforcement is contingent upon a response may mean nothing more than that
it follows the response. It may follow because of some mechanical connection or because of the
mediation of another organism; but conditioning takes place presumably because of the
temporal relation only, expressed in terms of the order and proximity of response and
reinforcement. Whenever we present a state of affairs which is known to be reinforcing at a
given drive, we must suppose that conditioning takes place, even though we have paid no
attention to the behavior of the organism in making the presentation.”
 Cluster 3 – Psychological
Burrhus Frederick Skinner
Foundations

Biography

Burrhus Frederic Skinner was born and raised in the small town of Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. His father
was a lawyer and his mother a homemaker and he grew up with a brother who was two years his junior.
He later described his Pennsylvania childhood as "warm and stable." As a boy, he enjoyed building and
inventing things; a skill he would later use in his own psychological experiments. His younger brother
Edward died at the age of 16 due to a cerebral hemorrhage.

During high school, Skinner started to develop an interest in scientific reasoning from his extensive study
of the works of Francis Bacon. He went on to receive a B.A. in English literature in 1926 from Hamilton
College.

After earning his undergraduate degree, he decided to become a writer, a period of his life that he would
later refer to as the "dark year." During this time, he wrote only a few short newspaper articles and
quickly grew disillusioned with his literary talents, despite receiving some encouragement and mentorship
from the famed poet Robert Frost.

While working as a clerk at a bookstore, Skinner happened upon the works of Pavlov and Watson, which
became a turning point in his life and career. Inspired by these works, Skinner decided to abandon his
career as a novelist and entered the psychology graduate program at Harvard University.

After receiving his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1931, Skinner continued to work at the university for the next
five years thanks to a fellowship. During this period of time, he continued his research on operant
behavior and operant conditioning. He married Yvonne Blue in 1936, and the couple went on to have two
daughters, Julie and Deborah.

Inventions

During his time at Harvard, Skinner became interested in studying human behavior in an objective and
scientific way. He developed what he referred to as an operant conditioning apparatus, which later
become known as a "Skinner box." The device was a chamber that contained a bar or key that an animal
could press in order to receive food, water, or some other form of reinforcement.

It was during this time at Harvard that he also invented the cumulative recorder, a device that recorded
responses as a sloped line. By looking at the slope of the line, which indicated the rate of response,
Skinner was able to see that response rates depended upon what happened after the animal pressed the
bar. That is, higher response rates followed rewards while lower response rates followed a lack of
rewards. The device also allowed Skinner to see that the schedule of reinforcement that was used also
influenced the rate of response.

Using this device, he found that behavior did not depend on the preceding stimulus as Watson and
Pavlov maintained. Instead, Skinner found that behaviors were dependent on what happens after the
response. Skinner called this operant behavior.

Project Pigeon

In "Project Pigeon," as it was called, pigeons were placed in the nose cone of a missile and were trained
to peck at a target that would then direct the missile toward the intended target. The project never came
to fruition, since the development of radar was also underway, although Skinner had considerable
success working with the pigeons. While the project was eventually canceled, it did lead to some
interesting findings and Skinner was even able to teach the pigeons to play ping-pong.

The Baby Tender

In 1943, B.F. Skinner also invented the "baby tender" at the request of his wife. It is important to note
that the baby tender is not the same as the "Skinner box," which was used in Skinner's experimental
research. He created the enclosed heated crib with a plexiglass window in response to his wife's request
for a safer alternative to traditional cribs. Ladies Home Journal printed an article on the crib with the title
"Baby in a Box," contributing in part to some misunderstanding over the crib's intended use.

Operant Conditioning

In Skinner's operant conditioning process, an operant referred to any behavior that acts on the
environment and leads to consequences. He contrasted operant behaviors (the actions under our control)
with respondent behaviors, which he described as anything that occurs reflexively or automatically such
as jerking your finger back when you accidentally touch a hot pan.

Skinner identified reinforcement as any event that strengthens the behavior it follows. The two types of
reinforcement he identified were positive reinforcement (favorable outcomes such as reward or praise)
and negative reinforcement (the removal of unfavorable outcomes).

Punishment can also play an important role in the operant conditioning process. According to Skinner,
punishment is the application of an adverse outcome that decreases or weakens the behavior it follows.
Positive punishment involves presenting an unfavorable outcome (prison, spanking, scolding) while
negative punishment involves removing a favorable outcome following a behavior (taking away a favorite
toy, getting grounded).

Schedules of Reinforcement

In his research on operant conditioning, Skinner also discovered and described schedules of
reinforcement:

 Fixed-ratio schedules
 Variable-ratio schedules
 Fixed-interval schedules
 Variable-interval schedules
 Teaching Machines

Skinner also developed an interest in education and teaching after attending his daughter's math class in
1953. Skinner noted that none of the students received any sort of immediate feedback on their
performance. Some students struggled and were unable to complete the problems while others finished
quickly but really didn't learn anything new. Instead, Skinner believed that the best approach would be to
create some sort of device that would shape behavior, offering incremental feedback until a desired
response was achieved.

He started by developing a math teaching machine that offered immediate feedback after each problem.
However, this initial device did not actually teach new skills. Eventually, he was able to develop a
machine that delivered incremental feedback and presented material in a series of small steps until
students acquired new skills, a process known as programmed instruction. Skinner later published a
collection of his writings on teaching and education titled The Technology of Teaching.

Later Life and Career

Skinner's research and writing quickly made him one of the leaders of the behaviorist movement in
psychology and his work contributed immensely to the development of experimental psychology.

Drawing on his former literary career, Skinner also used fiction to present many of his theoretical ideas.
In his 1948 book Walden Two, Skinner described a fictional utopian society in which people were trained
to become ideal citizens through the use of operant conditioning.

His 1971 book Beyond Freedom and Dignity also made him a lightning rod for controversy since his work
seemed to imply that humans did not truly possess free will. His 1974 book About Behaviorism was
written in part to dispel many of the rumors about his theories and research.

In his later years, Skinner continued to write about his life and his theories. He was diagnosed with
leukemia in 1989.

Just eight days before he died, Skinner was given a lifetime achievement award by the American
Psychological Association and he delivered a 15-minute talk to a crowded auditorium when he accepted
the award. He died on August 18, 1990.

Copyright © The Nobel Foundation 1962

 Cluster 4 – Socio;ogical
Alvin Toffer
Foundations

Alvin Toffler (Alvin Eugene Toffler; 1928 – 2016) was an American author, businessman, and futurologist.
He is known for his research on the social effects of modern technologies, and include research on the
digital- and communication revolution. His books include the bestsellers ‘Future Shocks’ in which he
discusses how emerging technologies are impacting future, and ‘The Third Wave’ in which he discusses
how the explosion of choice and ease of communication would transform commercial, public, and private
life.

Biography Alvin Toffler

Alvin Toffler was born in New York City where he grew up and spent his early life. He and his little sister
are children of Poland migrants. By the age of 7, he was inspired by his uncle and aunt, an editor and
poet, to become a writer in the future. Alvin Toffler started since this time writing poetry and stories.

After High School, Alvin Toffler studied English at New York University where he also obtained his degree.
During his study period, Alvin met his future wife Adelaide Elizabeth Farrell, also known as Heidi. He met
her when he was on his way walking to Washington Square Park, and since they met, they have been
inseparable. Heidi was in that time also coincidentally studying a course at New York University. Alvin
Toffler immediately married Heidi after graduating in 1950.

The pair shared approximately the same vision and were both interested in writing. Alvin Toffler was
inspired by authors who write about a personal experience. For this reason, he and his wife decided to
work as blue-collar workers while at the same time study industrial mass production in their work.

Later, after five years working as blue-collar workers, Alvin Toffler was offered a job as an editor at a
Union newspaper. He next worked as a correspondent for the White House where he wrote on the
political affairs of the American Congress and the White House.

In about three years, Alvin Toffler was requested by Fortune Magazine to work as a labor columnist.
From this period, he began writing about business and management. Although Alvin Toffler was already
offered various positions, he decided to become an independent writer. Alvin Toffler next wrote for
scholarly journals and magazines.

His name became more known. Alvin Toffler was next requested by IBM to execute research and write on
the social- and organizational impact of computers. This initiative made him come in contact with the
earliest computer scientists and artificial intelligence theorists.

As a result of the insights he gained, Alvin Toffler was stimulated to execute research on what the impact
would be on society if changes happen too fast. The outcome of his work was published in 1970 in his
book ‘Future Shock.’ The book has sold millions of copies and is translated in many languages. In 1980,
he published ‘The Third Wave,’ a book that describes the type of revolutions that already happened in the
past and the one that will occur in the future. According to Alvin Toffler, the first two revolutions were
the agricultural and industrial revolutions, and the third revolution is the technological revolution. In his
book, he predicted that technologies such as cable television, internet, and other digital technologies
would emerge.

In 1996, Alvin Toffler founded together with Tom Johnson the Toffler Associates, a consultancy firm
specialized in and committed to providing consultancy services in Risk Management, Strategic Advisory,
Organizational Transformation, and Innovation and Agility. The establishment of the company was
successful. Toffler Associates currently have an international customer portfolio which comprises
businesses, governmental institutions, and NGO’s.

Many people and institutions have recognized Alvin Toffler’s work. He predicted that the Asian economies
would emerge, and according to Chinese national representatives, Alvin Toffler had a great influence on
China. The Financial Times even stated that Alvin Toffler’s influence on China helped the country shape
modern China.

Influenced countries and people were not limited to only Asian countries. Alvin Toffler inspired many well-
known people such as Carlos Slim, business magnate and one of the wealthiest person in the world, but
also Ted Turner, founder of CNN.

Alvin Toffler was honored various times. He received the Order of Arts and Letters Award, an award
provided by the French Minister of Culture to people who have offered significant contributions to arts or
literature. He also received a book award for his contributions to management literature, provided by the
McKinsey Foundation.

More awards and recognitions have been given to Alvin Toffler. Next tot his work, he worked as a
lecturer at various schools and is according to Accenture, an international consultancy firm, one of the
most significant business leaders in the world.

Alvin Toffler died at the age of 87. his wife Heidi gave birth their daughter Karen Toffler, Alvin’s only
child. Heide positively influenced Alvin Toffler’s personal and professional growth. She is later in his work
also acknowledged as co-author. Heidi died two years later after Alvin past away.

Alvin Toffler quotes

“Nobody knows the future with certainty. We can, however, identify ongoing patterns of change.”
“Technology feeds on itself. Technology makes more technology possible.”
“It is better to err on the side of daring than the side of caution.”
“No serious futurist deals in prediction. These are left for television oracles and newspaper astrologers.”
“Future shock is the shattering stress and disorientation that we induce in individuals by subjecting them
to too much change in too short a time.”
“One of the definitions of sanity is the ability to tell real from unreal. Soon we’ll need a new definition.”
“The great growling engine of change – technology.”
“Most managers were trained to be the thing they most despise – bureaucrats.”
“Our technological powers increase, but the side effects and potential hazards also escalate.”
“Change is not merely necessary to life – it is life.”

How to cite this article:

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BRITANNICA
Charles Sanders Peirce
AMERICAN PHILOSOPHER AND SCIENTIST
WRITTEN BY: The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica
LAST UPDATED: Feb 20, 2020 See Article History
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