Progress in Transdisciplinary Times

For about a decade I think ... hold on please! ...

Since October 2011 in fact, and an issue of -

Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, Volume 17, Issue 5

Special Issue: Philosophy of Evidence Based Medicine

- I've carried the concept of 'progress' in my head. I think I picked up this issue somewhere and still have some of its key papers. 

 

Progress is always there in the media, in its obvious forms, technical, education, scientific, social, political, economic, medical; whether or not we agree on the pace, realisation, ethics, extent and contribution to overall well-being. Now, we can also add Earth as the foundational element.

Simon Kuper's 'Opening Shot' in the FT Magazine, 11-12 December 2021 wrote about 'progress' and Thomas Midgley Jr; "often described as the most disastrous peaceable human who ever lived." Responsible for the progressive, at the time, innovations of lead in petrol (to reduce "knocking" in petrol engines), and chlorofluorocarbons - you'll understand that one I think. Kuper notes how:

"Midgley's story illustrates the damage that one brilliant, ambitious, out-of-the-box thinker can do."

Since the early 20th century, we have nuclear fission, biolabs, genetic technology, artificial intelligence, climate change and other 'inventions'. The 'progress' of climate change is catching up with us. Ironic, how the question, after all those millennia remains - can I/We outrun this threat? The problems we face now, we are told, call for transdisciplinary solutions - adding yet more complexity.

Clearly, we need to equip people with the cognitive, conceptual tools to work alternately, in-and-out of the boxes. And, whatever our belief system consider progress in spiritual terms too.

 INDIVIDUAL

|

 INTERPERSONAL    :     SCIENCES               

HUMANISTIC --------------------------------------  MECHANISTIC      

SOCIOLOGY  :   POLITICAL 

|

GROUP

progress	progress
progress	PROGRESS

Another thing to return to!

Simon Kuper, Opening Shot, When too much progress is a bad thing. FT Weekend, Magazine, December 11-12, 2021, p.8.

Previously on W2tQ: progress