ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the epistemological implications of complexity. In fact, according to what has been discussed so far, hard science, when operating within the reductionist paradigm, is not able to handle in a useful way the set of relevant perceptions and representations of the reality used by interacting agents, which are operating on different scales. No matter how complicated, individual mathematical models cannot be used to represent changes on a multi-scale, multi-objective performance space. To make things worse, it must be acknowledged that there are two relevant dimensions in the discussion about science for governance: one related to the
descriptive
side (the ability to represent the effect of changes in different descriptive domains by using an appropriate set of indicators) and one related to the
normative
side (the ability to reach an agreement on the individuation of an advisable policy to be implemented in the face of contrasting values and perspectives). As noted in Chapters 2 and 3, these two dimensions are only apparently separated, since, due to the epistemological implications discussed so far, even when operating within the descriptive domain, there are a lot of decisions that are heavily affected by power asymmetry. Who decides how to simplify the complexity of the reality? Who decides whose perceptions are the ones to be included in the analysis? Who chooses the appropriate language, relevant issues and significant proofs? Put another way, the very definition of a problem structuring (how to describe the problem) entails a clear bias for the normative step. The reverse is also obviously true (policies are determined by the agreed-upon perceptions of costs, benefits and risks of potential options). In conclusion, the issue of science for governance requires addressing the issue of how to generate procedures that can be used to perform multi-agent negotiations aimed at getting compromise solutions on a multi-criteria performance space. The general implications of this fact are discussed in this chapter, whereas technical aspects related to the role of scientists in this process are discussed in Chapter 5.
