Life: A Systems Approach – inaugural lecture from Professor Arthur Dahl
Published 13 December 2010
Event 16 December 2011
Visiting professor Arthur Dahl, in his inaugural lecture on Thursday (16 December), explains how he has taken a very eclectic and strategic approach to the science of systems during 50 years in the environmental movement.
He started to explore the patterns and processes underlying complex biological systems, from simple seaweeds to coral reef ecosystems. Then, through very practical work on the environmental problems of small islands, he tried to integrate human communities and natural systems.
The next step was the global level, exploring the links between environmental, economic and social systems necessary to move towards planetary sustainability.
This meant trying to understand the mechanisms of information and control that allow these systems to function, and indicators that might signal how well they worked. He realised that, at the most fundamental level, it is human ethics and values that determine the effectiveness of our governance and our impact on the planetary environment. This led naturally to search for values-based indicators for sustainability, and the ESDinds (education for sustainable development) project.
Life: A Systems Approach - reflections on multiple dimensions of sustainability
Arthur Dahl
Visiting Professor of Sustainable Systems
Thursday 16 December 2010 at 6.30pm
ASA Briggs Theatre
Checkland Building
University of Brighton
Falmer campus
BN1 9PH
All welcome.
Read more news...
Contact: Marketing and Communications, University of Brighton, 01273 643022
