ABSTRACT
In order to better prepare our citizens to have more thoughtful, civil and nuanced discussions of important contemporary problems, museums must create presentations that presume most contested issues are complex; recognize disputing parties hold only partial truth; and illustrate solutions as organic and never complete. To encourage civil debate, I am suggesting that museums, using complexity theory as justification, should add a new exhibition paradigm that does not resolve issues into a pre-determined message, is proactively multidisciplinary, and has embedded multiple worldviews without editorial judgement. This format would leave the outcome unsettled for the viewer who would need further reflection to come to a personal resolution.
