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1 November 2005 Collectively Seeing Complex Systems: The Nature of the Problem
RICHARD B. NORGAARD, PAUL BAER
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Abstract

The modern world is characterized by an unprecedented fragmentation and specialization of knowledge, including scientific knowledge. Yet to solve the problems—especially environmental problems—created in part by the successful application of this knowledge to expanded agricultural and industrial production, scientists must bring together this dispersed knowledge to inform collective deliberation. In this introduction to the special Roundtable section on “collectively seeing complex systems,” we outline the problem and highlight the ways in which scientists have until now relatively unselfconsciously addressed it, using as an example the broad range of scientists who collaborate in the scientific support of modern agriculture. We look at the problems of judgment and deliberation in the scientific understanding of complex systems as they relate to democratic practices, and advance some modest suggestions for improving the ability of scientists to respond to the increasing demands for policy-relevant, interdisciplinary information.

RICHARD B. NORGAARD and PAUL BAER "Collectively Seeing Complex Systems: The Nature of the Problem," BioScience 55(11), 953-960, (1 November 2005). https://doi.org/10.1641/0006-3568(2005)055[0953:CSCSTN]2.0.CO;2
Published: 1 November 2005
JOURNAL ARTICLE
8 PAGES

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KEYWORDS
complex systems
environmental policy
Epistemology
sociology of knowledge
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