Environmentalist, President of the Development Alternatives Group, ex-President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
The reductionism and materialism of the Cartesian method are also, directly and indirectly, at the root of many of our environmental and social breakdowns. The one-dimensional and progressively narrowing focus of scientific investigation, social action and policy making have increasingly led us away from the holistic perspective needed to manage ourselves and our resources in a sustainable manner. Hence the backlash: the growing recognition of the need to bring back multi-disciplinary, trans-sectoral, integral approaches into research, action and policy.
