Debates on Sustainable Development: Towards a Holistic View of Reality |
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Authors: | Email author" target="_blank">Leonardo?Alberto?Rios?OsorioEmail author Manuel?Ortiz?Lobato Xavier?álvarez?Del?Castillo |
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Institution: | (1) Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, P.O. 08222, Edifici Campus, TR10, Calle Colom, 2, Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain;(2) UNED (Distance Education University of Spain), Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain;(3) Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain |
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Abstract: | The paper analyzes the concept of sustainable development in the light of the different interpretations existing on the issue
since its appearance and establishment as an ideal to lead humanity’s line of progress. Within these interpretations, a characteristic
generation of diverse debates can be appreciated, arising from different perspectives, academic as well as ideological, aiming
at describing, clarifying and determining their conceptual reach.
Based on these facts a model of categorization for these debates has developed, a model in which interpretations generated
on the concept of sustainable development were catalogued into four realms: conceptual, contextual, academic and geopolitical.
The configuration of these four areas of debate, as well as the recognition of the diversity of interpretations existing on
sustainable development, is a reflection of the intrinsic complexity of the phenomena, which affect the natural and social
world, both at the local and global level. The analysis of this complexity is based on the subjectivity, which is inherent
to the interpretation of these phenomena, with permanent reference to the cultural context from which the diverse discourses
were structured.
This global perspective on the state-of-the-art controversy concerning the idea of sustainable development as an articulatory
axis reveals the necessity of building epistemological models, which can give a new direction to scientific research. From
these new models, based on the analysis of the holistic character of reality, the subjective and the objective must be integrated
in the generation of knowledge, which contributes usefully to the unceasing reconstruction of our world-(view).
Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue. |
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Keywords: | conceptual debate contextual debate disciplinary debate geopolitical debate sustainable development sustainability transdisciplinary |
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