Maxwell, N;
(2021)
The World Crisis - And What To Do About It: A Revolution for Thought and Action.
(1st ed.).
World Scientific: Singapore.
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Abstract
This book spells out what we need to do to solve the global problems that threaten our future: the climate crisis; the current pandemic; the destruction of the natural world, catastrophic loss of wild life, and mass extinction of species; lethal modern war; the spread of modern armaments; the menace of nuclear weapons; pollution of earth, sea and air; rapid rise in the human population; increasing antibiotic resistance; the degradation of democratic politics, brought about in part by the internet. I argue that all these problems have come about because we have solved the first of two great problems of learning – the problem of learning to acquire scientific knowledge and technological know-how – but have so far failed to solve the second great problem of learning – learning to create a civilized world. Modern science and technology make possible modern industry and agriculture, modern hygiene and medicine, modern power production and travel, modern armaments, which in turn make possible much that is good, but also all the above global problems. Science as such is not the problem; it is, rather, science without wisdom. All the above problems have arisen because we have modern science without wisdom. Now that we have solved the first great problem of learning, we must discover, urgently, how to solve the second one. We can do that if we learn from how we solved the first great problem of learning how to solve the second one. That requires that we bring about a radical transformation in universities all over the world. At present they are devoted to the pursuit of specialized knowledge and technology. They need to be transformed so that the basic task becomes to help humanity tackle problems of living, including global problems, in increasingly cooperatively rational ways. The book spells out in detail the changes that need to be made to academic inquiry, why they need to be made, and how they would enable universities to help humanity actively and effectively tackle and solve current global problems.
| Type: | Book |
|---|---|
| Title: | The World Crisis - And What To Do About It: A Revolution for Thought and Action |
| ISBN-13: | 9789811235603 |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1142/12218 |
| Publisher version: | https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1... |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher's terms and conditions. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Science and Technology Studies |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10125708 |
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