Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences a+
The general part of the sciences. Towards the unity of science and a real studium generale
It is obvious that we humans have a global responsibility, also in our own interest. In this situation, however, we lack not only a holistic strategy and an organisation capable of acting globally but also generalists who understand the bigger picture, who can discern the relevant connections and who – thanks to holistic methods – can propose and implement holistic solutions. Without this strategy, without this organisation and without these generalists, our future will increasingly become an odyssey in dense fog with a high probability of collapse.
The project “Unity of science and a real studium generale” has, in fact, the not-so-modest aspiration of providing the foundations not only for the strategy and organisation mentioned above but, above all, for the urgently needed generalists. When building these foundations, we must first of all bear in mind that our world today is increasingly dependent on the sciences (from German: Wissenschaften), if only because of the growing complexity. Secondly, our fundamental problems such as energy, the environment and population growth are transdisciplinary problems in scientific terms. These problems elude the grasp of the individual scientific disciplines – also when they are added together in a more interdisciplinary approach. Rather, we need additional transdisciplinary approaches that can unite the scientific disciplines under superordinate aspects and thereby change them: It is a matter of bringing together the different scientific disciplines, which is tantamount to a second enlightenment. Thirdly, today‘s sciences cannot guarantee this transdisciplinarity because they are led by specialists and lack the necessary generalists.
In order to guarantee this transdisciplinarity, the general part of the sciences is required as a basis in which the individual scientific disciplines can be embedded. This leads to the unity of science. And on this basis, the unity of science, a real studium generale of two semesters‘ duration must be institutionalised at our universities. Such a studium generale is therefore a real studium generale because, in contrast to existing studia generalia, it is holistic. This studium generale could also be called studium fundamentale. The graduates of this real studium generale are the generalists we so urgently need. And these generalists should ultimately be able to assume our responsibilities in the Anthropocene, in cooperation with all of us, especially with regard to strategy and organisation.
Saner, Luc (2023). Allgemeiner Teil der Wissenschaften. Auf dem Weg zur Einheit der Wissenschaft und zu einem echten Studium generale.
Swiss Academy of Sciences SCNAT
Roles of Scientists in Sustainability Transformations: A Guide for Reflection and Workshop Facilitation
Scientists, scientific experts, and knowledge brokers often find themselves in situations where they need to play new roles in society or are criticised for positioning themselves at the interface between science and other societal fields of action. The present guide aims to stimulate reflections on, and discussions of, various different roles that scientists perform.
European Academies Science Advisory Council EASAC
Changing wildfires: policy options for a fire-literate and fire-adapted Europe
There is an increased probability of extreme fires, due mainly to climate change (droughts and declining summer precipitation), rural depopulation, and land-use changes. To respond to this, a new European Academies report is calling for an urgent shift in wildfire policy – from reactive fire suppression to proactive, risk-based land management.
Already today, wildfires burn half a million hectares in the EU yearly on average, i.e. nearly twice the size of Luxembourg. While the Mediterranean remains the highest-risk region, the report warns that continental, alpine, and boreal regions must also prepare for a new era of fire. Instead of focussing on fire suppression and emergency response, the report advocates for an integrated EU framework for landscape fire-risk governance that prioritises prevention alongside these three elements: climate and land-use policies that focus on restoring carbon-rich peatlands and managing forests sustainably; integrate fire risk into biodiversity and tree-planting plans; and educate for a fire-resilient society.
The report under the auspices of the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC) was drafted by scientists from across Europe. On behalf of the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences, Marco Conedera, forest engineer at the WSL Campus in Cadenazzo, contributed as a reviewer of a draft version.
Actor constellation - td-net toolbox profile 2 Pohl, C. 2020
This publication describes the actor constellation and is part of a series of tools and methods compiled in the td-net toolbox for co-producing knowledge. Actor constellation is a role-play for identifying the relevance of various involved actors for tackling a specific research question.