the neverending story of sustainability
TRANSCRIPT
By Maarten van Schie, B.Sc. Future Planet Studies
…A story about knowledge
Issues of this discussion (3)- What is there to know?- Knowledge and action- Kinds of knowledge
(know what)(know why)(know how)
What is there to know?
• A fundamental distinction
Reality
What is there to know?
• A fundamental distinction
Reality
What we know of reality
(not to scale)
But what is knowledge? | function
• Knowledge informs action–What is uninformed action?– Informed action?
RealityWhat we know of reality
Uninformed action
informed action
On informed action
• Kinds of knowledge• Important class of informed action:
speech
What we know of reality
Informed action
Highlighting a dichotomy in knowledge | ontology
• “That of which we can speak…”… is not the whole of it.
Examples?
Leading to another dichotomy
• The social realm: relies heavily on communication
• Knowledge that can be communicated
What we know of reality
Informed action
Speaking
Knowledge consolidation
• Through language• Individual contributions
Of which I can speak
Of which youcan speak
Of which someoneelse can speak
Of which someoneelse can speak
Of which someoneelse can speak
Of which someoneelse can speak
Of which someoneelse can speak
Of which someoneelse can speak
Of which someoneelse can speak
Of which someoneelse can speak
Of which someoneelse can speak
Of which someoneelse can speak
Of which someoneelse can speak
Collective knowledge
e.g. “Scientific knowledge”
(but not exclusively)
...BUT
Sustainability…
Is not just about what we know.
It’s about what we do. (aggregated action)
How do we get to collective action?
What we collectively know of reality
Collective action ?
There is no “collective actor”
• Nobody has all the knowledge of the collective.Rather: there are knowledge bearers.(representatives)
= Individual agents, negotiating.
And then….
A problem of communication
What I know What you know
What a third person knows
*shared* knowledge
Shared knowledge space
• Negotiation–What we can agree upon decreases the
more people join in the negotiation.
Summary of distinctions
1. Reality and knowledge2. Knowledge informing action– Especially language
3. Knowledge and knowledge we can speak of
4. Personal and collective knowledge4b. (process of personal and collective action)
Overview (for intentional agency)
Reality
What we personally know of reality (aggregated)
(still not to scale)
What we can speak of
What we collectively know of reality
What we collectively act on
Differences
There will always be a difference between reality and what we know of reality
(a neverending story)
Reality
What we personally know of reality (aggregated)
• But not the whole of the story of sustainability, for:
Important tensions between
• Reality & what we personally act onMistakes (learn by doing)
• Reality & what we collectively act upon
Sustainability
But also:• What we personally know &
collectively knowFrustration: “I know it, but I cannot explain it to you”
Suggestions
• Learning: trying out what you know& learn from your mistakes
• Sustainability = small scale action
Suggestions
What I know What you know
What a third person knows
*shared* knowledge
Suggestions• Learning: trying out what you know
& learn from your mistakes• Sustainability = small scale action
(more agile, larger common denominator possible)• Combination: prototyping, best practices• Awareness of aforementioned distinctions
The two snakes represent the dual nature of the two worlds, Fantastica and Reality, but also the twin nature of their mutual creation and destruction. On the back of [the amulet] are these words:
“Do What You Wish”
AURYN helps Atreyu [the main character of the Neverending Story] through Fantastica in his quest to find a cure for the ailing Childlike Empress, and defeat the Nothing.