The quality of sustainability science: a philosophical perspective

Sustainability science does not fit easily with established criteria of the quality of science. Making explicit and justifying four features of sustainability science—normativity, inclusion of nonscientists, urgency, and cooperation of natural and social scientists—can promote deep and comprehensive...

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Main Authors: Rafael Ziegler, Konrad Ott
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2011-06-01
Series:Sustainability: Science, Practice, & Policy
Subjects:
Online Access:http://sspp.proquest.com/archives/vol7iss1/1006-029.ziegler.html
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spelling doaj-de0370f9396147a39d2ad1b46e086da02020-11-24T21:46:00ZengTaylor & Francis GroupSustainability: Science, Practice, & Policy1548-77332011-06-01713144The quality of sustainability science: a philosophical perspectiveRafael ZieglerKonrad OttSustainability science does not fit easily with established criteria of the quality of science. Making explicit and justifying four features of sustainability science—normativity, inclusion of nonscientists, urgency, and cooperation of natural and social scientists—can promote deep and comprehensive questioning. In particular, because the inclusion of nonscientists into sustainability science has become a dogma, re-examining the epistemic, normative, and political reasons for inclusion is important for the quality of sustainability science. These reasons include providing a range of perspectives and helping to craft and implement policy in real-world social and ethical situations. To be included effectively, nonscientists must be understood within this demanding context rather than employed merely to satisfy a dogma. We situate our discussion in this article against a foundational controversy of sustainability science: the weak versus strong sustainability debate. According to our analysis, comprehensive consideration of the features of normativity, inclusion of nonscientists, urgency, and cooperation of natural and social scientists suggests a convincing case for strong sustainability. http://sspp.proquest.com/archives/vol7iss1/1006-029.ziegler.htmlsustainable developmentinterdisciplinary researchevaluationparticipatory planningculture (human)
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Rafael Ziegler
Konrad Ott
spellingShingle Rafael Ziegler
Konrad Ott
The quality of sustainability science: a philosophical perspective
Sustainability: Science, Practice, & Policy
sustainable development
interdisciplinary research
evaluation
participatory planning
culture (human)
author_facet Rafael Ziegler
Konrad Ott
author_sort Rafael Ziegler
title The quality of sustainability science: a philosophical perspective
title_short The quality of sustainability science: a philosophical perspective
title_full The quality of sustainability science: a philosophical perspective
title_fullStr The quality of sustainability science: a philosophical perspective
title_full_unstemmed The quality of sustainability science: a philosophical perspective
title_sort quality of sustainability science: a philosophical perspective
publisher Taylor & Francis Group
series Sustainability: Science, Practice, & Policy
issn 1548-7733
publishDate 2011-06-01
description Sustainability science does not fit easily with established criteria of the quality of science. Making explicit and justifying four features of sustainability science—normativity, inclusion of nonscientists, urgency, and cooperation of natural and social scientists—can promote deep and comprehensive questioning. In particular, because the inclusion of nonscientists into sustainability science has become a dogma, re-examining the epistemic, normative, and political reasons for inclusion is important for the quality of sustainability science. These reasons include providing a range of perspectives and helping to craft and implement policy in real-world social and ethical situations. To be included effectively, nonscientists must be understood within this demanding context rather than employed merely to satisfy a dogma. We situate our discussion in this article against a foundational controversy of sustainability science: the weak versus strong sustainability debate. According to our analysis, comprehensive consideration of the features of normativity, inclusion of nonscientists, urgency, and cooperation of natural and social scientists suggests a convincing case for strong sustainability.
topic sustainable development
interdisciplinary research
evaluation
participatory planning
culture (human)
url http://sspp.proquest.com/archives/vol7iss1/1006-029.ziegler.html
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