Beyond science, economics and beliefs
Sometimes in change you have to think beyond the approaches of disciplines like science, economics and beliefs
Science
Science has a well-established procedure of testing, ie
| Step 1 | Identify the problem |
| ⇓ | |
| Step 2 | Gather the data |
| ⇓ | |
| Step 3 | Develop a hypothesis |
| ⇓ | |
| Step 4 | Test the hypothesis (experiments, research, etc) |
| ⇓ | |
| Step 5 | Does the new data agree with the hypothesis (Step 3)*i |
Notes
i) If yes, continue to test the hypothesis; if no, modify the hypothesis and then test again
(source: Bob Spiers 2020)
Economics
The key elements of economics involve
- valuation frameworks (how things are valued, costs and benefits)
- accounting for externalities, eg private versus public good
- future discounting ( higher relative weight given to consequences now as compared with those in the future
- need to understand uncertainty, risk and precaution
Beliefs
"...We believe different things about our duty to others, to Nature and other deities..."
M. Hulme as quoted by Bob Spiers 2020
Our belief systems can be influenced by how we see ourselves in the universe, our approach to religion, social justice, equity, etc