Complexity versus the reductionist approach
In the world of science, complexity refers to interrelationships that are interwoven together and are difficult to separate from each other. More often than not, complex systems prove to be too difficult to be understood and effectively manipulated by human beings, a fact that has all the more stimulated a lot of interest and curiosity into the matter. Complexity and complex systems are present all around us as we tend to our day to day activities in hospitals, educational facilities, and even in scientific laboratories. A reductionist approach, on the other hand, seeks to explain that the emergent individual properties of a complex system are in essence very simple systems and procedures that come together to make a larger and more complicated system (“Complexity and reductionism in educational philosophy—John Dewey’s critical approach in ‘Democracy and education’ reconsidered,” 2016). It is often said that the reductionist approach is somewhat naïve and seeks to explain everything in the simplest manner possible so that everyone can easily understand what is taking place. The reductionist approach has several weaknesses, which make us want to study complexity rather than reductionism (“Scientific reduction (Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy),” n.d.). Complex systems are better poised to describe phenomena as they are in the real world. Also, complexity helps in the accurate prediction of complex behavior. Reductionism cannot be used to predict behavior because the approach does not consider the interaction of complex systems’ behavior. Also, we study complex systems because of our fascination and desire to understand how these complex systems work. Scientific curiosity has always been at the forefront of technological advancement in the world.
Climate Change Stakeholders
Different stakeholder groups are affected differently by climate change. Depending on how they are affected by the global phenomenon, they play different roles in the climate change debate. The different stakeholder groups and their perspectives on climate change are highlighted in the table below:
| Stakeholder Group | Stakeholder Perspective |
| State and Local governments | The state and local governments are in charge of coming up with laws and regulations to prevent further negative effects of the global phenomenon. It is the function of the government through its organs to try and educate the people on why climate change should be stopped as well as the measures to stop it. Both state and local governments have the authority to make decisions and implement policies concerning climate change. Both governments are mandated to collect, record, analyze, and later provide climate change data to relevant authorities. |
| Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) | Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) can be in the form of environmental advocacy groups, faith-based organizations (FBO), community centers, and even health centers. More often than not, Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) are actively involved in climate control and environmental preservation more than the state and local governments. Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) are often involved in charitable works such as clean environmental ups and tree planting in an effort to reduce the rate of climate change. |
| Partner Agencies | There are very many different partner agencies across the world that come together to make policies regarding the climate and how it is gradually changing. Such agencies include the United Nations and the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA). Such agencies are crucial in providing funding and assistance to initiatives aimed at solving the problem of climate change. |
| Vulnerable Populations | Recent data has shown that climate change has negatively affected some parts of the world and has left some communities vulnerable to the effects of climate change, such as flooding and food shortages in some regions because of rainfall shortages. Some of the worst-hit areas are these along the coastal regions and semi-arid areas. |
Problem Context
The process of climate change can be defined as the slow and gradual variation in the global levels of precipitation, patterns of wind and temperature being recorded, usually over several decades. Climate change has mainly been attributed to the increase in greenhouse gases being generated and let to escape into the atmosphere creating a carbon blanket trapping heat from the earth’s surface. The more heat is trapped by this carbon blanket, the higher the global temperatures become. The other major cause of climate change is environmental degradation caused by the cutting down of tree cover. Trees take in carbon (IV) oxide and give out oxygen gas. Therefore, a reduction in tree cover translates into an increase in the levels of carbon (IV) oxide. Over the years, studies into climate science have increased as a way of trying to find viable solutions for climate change problems. The problem of climate change has proven to be hard because of the increasing levels of technology across the world. More automobiles are being produced as well as more factories being opened, generating more greenhouse gases. The other main reason why the global phenomenon has proven to be difficult to handle is sheer ignorance of the population. There is a very large percentage of people who do not care that they are degrading the planet and contributing to climate change. The other challenge in the way of tackling climate change effectively is the slow nature of processes in both state and local government offices. It takes very long for policies to be made and even longer for them to be effectively implemented. This lag in processes acts as a hindrance to the timely implantation of viable tactics and methods of solving climate change and the global warming problem (UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti, n.d.).
Consequences of not recognizing the complexity in dealing with climate change
There is a huge danger that comes with underestimating how much climate change and global warming will affect us. By not effectively grasping how complex the situation is, we risk that the climate change problem is going to escalate and become even bigger and eventually become unmanageable. Another consequence of not recognizing the complexity of the climate change problem is that the underlying relationships between the causative factors, the risk factors, and the possible solutions will be missed or ignored. The other consequence of not recognizing the complexity of the climate change problem is that it will become almost impossible to predict how the global phenomenon will change. When it gets to a point where it is impossible to make accurate predictions and forecasts regarding the problem, it will affect the level of preparedness of the people because they do not have all the required facts and information about climate change (UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti, n.d.).
The Usefulness of Hard and Soft Systems Methodologies for Tacking Climate Change
A combination of both the hard and soft systems methodologies when tackling climate change is likely to yield better results than when one of the systems methodologies is applied individually (“Comparison between hard and soft systems approaches (expanding..,” 2020). The soft systems methodology approach is oriented for learning and uses systems models to try and evaluate and analyze the problems of the world. On the other hand, the hard systems thinking approach is oriented towards a solution or a goal and makes use of real-life models to try and get solutions for problems in the real world. The main difference between the soft and hard systems methodology is that the soft thinking approach looks at issues and discusses how to handle them while the hard systems methodology is action-oriented and focuses on finding the solution to the problem. However, when tackling climate change, the hard systems methodology is better suited because it is focused on finding an actionable solution that can be implemented and generate the required results. Also, the hard systems methodology is more advanced than the soft systems methodology and makes use of advanced techniques when coming up with actionable solutions to tackle climate change and global warming.
References
Complexity and reductionism in educational philosophy—John Dewey’s critical approach in ‘Democracy and education’ reconsidered. (2016, 8). Taylor & Francis. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00131857.2016.1150802?src=recsys&journalCode=rept20
Scientific reduction (Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy). (n.d.). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/scientific-reduction/
Table 1. Comparison between hard and soft systems approaches (expanding… (2020, March 9). ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Comparison-between-Hard-and-Soft-Systems-Approaches-expanding-on-Gu-and-Tang-2005_tbl1_271396172
(n.d.). UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti. https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/ccc_final_2014.pdf
References