How to devise a sustainable science for sustainability? A reflexive approach for the present time

Interdisciplinary Research Institute on Sustainability, University of Torino, Italy
www.iris.unito.it

^a Corresponding author: elena.camino@unito.it

Abstract

Most people refer to science as a ‘special way’ to produce neutral and objective knowledge about the natural world, and from such understanding draw guidelines to move towards a more sustainable way to inhabit the planet. But there is an increasing gap between approaches aiming at interpreting, and approaches that transform while studying: such transformations may come out to be irreversibly harmful. Besides, science and technology are even more interconnected, so that ‘technoscience’ is the prevailing way of investigating nature today, and is driven and powered by huge economic interests. How can neutral knowledge be achieved if research questions are so heavily biased? In order to undertake a sustainable journey we need to ask some questions about the role and the features of science in shaping our future. Who are the ‘experts’ in sustainability science? What are ‘sustainable’ values in formulating research questions? How to deal with biophysical and social constraints in a sustainable way?