California Institute of Integral Studies

Faculty Member, Transformative Studies

Thesis Title: Complexity and Climate Change: An epistemological study of transdisciplinary complexity studies and their contribution to socio-ecological phenomena

About

After completing my studies at Yale, Berkeley and the Sorbonne in Paris, in the fields of environmental issues and philosophy, currently I am an Assistant Professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies. My academic work takes place at the lively juncture of complexity theories, applied ethics, philosophy of science, climate change, and rapid social and environmental change.

In my doctoral program I conducted an extensive review of transdisciplinary literature on complexity theories and its applications to climate change. While writing on these subjects, I have started thinking, for instance, about shifting policy, institutions and societies from vicious circles to virtuous circles, from piecemeal policy to synergistic approaches, and from ‘winners and losers’ to win-win-win thinking.

In both climate science and climate ethics and justice we have the most important facts and sensibility. The science is in: it’s big, it’s bad. The ethics are in; climate policy won't work without some allocation justice system based on fairly equitable per capita rights, incorporating historical responsibility.

We know that we need creative, innovative and passionate thinkers and activists, good leadership at all levels, broad public engagement, and supported, inspired and active youth. We need integrated and yet innovative research working on synergistic solutions to both social and environmental malaise, and on strengthening our democracies with greater equity and environmentalism. How to make all this happen gets a bit more complex and challenging...  which makes it all the more passionate and exciting!