Towards a process epistemology for the study of SES
We have published our first paper on the process-relational work that some of us – Maja, Tilman and María – conducted for the last year and a half. We are very excited to share our paper entitled “towards a process epistemology for the analysis of social ecological systems”, currently available on the website of the journal Environmental Values. This paper discusses what it would mean to adopt a process perspective to analyze social-ecological systems. It associates a process perspective with the concept of onto-epistemology, i.e. the idea that as we study social-ecological systems, we inevitably change them. Said otherwise, an onto-epistemology is simply a way of saying that knowing cannot be separate from the modification of what is known and of oneself as the subject of knowing. We defend that a process perspective allows us to better tackle the co-constitution of the social and the ecological and the dynamism of these systems. On that basis we highlight the usefulness of rethinking our conceptual tools taking processes and relations as the main constituents of reality instead of fundamental substances or essences. We introduce the concept of experience as understood in radical empiricism to critically revise our available concepts. We propose several ways in which our concepts and analysis can be revised to build a process-based approach: tackling differences, examining well-established concepts such as the concept of the subject and redefining subjectivity through the concept of assemblage. The assemblage can be defined as a sort socio-ecological-technical network that comes together for a purpose and is maintained as long as such purpose continues to be actualized. Through this paper, we introduce some of the key works of process thinkers – such as Deleuze and Whitehead and, of pragmatist philosopher William James – and their more contemporary readers – such as Stengers and Debaise. Do you want to know more? Find the paper here.