09/28/08

 

Like the biography on this website, the writings in the category "Commentaries" have not been published elsewhere before appearing here.  The topics benefit from the material appearing without substantial delay.  Most reference citations are from secondary sources, such as reports and newspaper articles and editorials, which are available on the Internet and are helpful to persons without access to a major library.  An additional advantage to posting the writings here is the rapidity with which environmental issues are reported.  These issues benefit from a transdisciplinary approach, and topics of primarily regional and disciplinary focus are avoided.  Since these commentaries have not been published elsewhere, they carry the date of completion.

 

Both eco-ethics and sustainability ethics require transdisciplinarity and both are essential to achieving sustainable use of the planet.  As Wilson (1998) notes in his prophetic book, Consilience (literally "leaping together"), the process of encompassing the sciences, the arts, ethics, and religion is already underway - a synthesis of the various types of knowing the complex system called Earth and an essential way to transcend the fragmentation of knowledge resulting from excessive disciplinarity.  The disciplines are essential quality control systems for determining how components of complex systems function, but not how the entire system functions.  Transdisciplinarity is inclusive rather than exclusive and will enrich the disciplines by enabling them to exchange knowledge with each other.  Wilson urges a common system of knowledge to enable humankind to develop a harmonious relationship with its biospheric life support system.  Humankind must use every means that might facilitate this process so that it is all inclusive.

Wilson, E. O. 1998. Consilience:  The Unity of Knowledge. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.

Commentaries