EMBRACING COMPLEXITY

Integral ecology views human and natural systems as self-organizing systems whose dynamics are largely a function of positive and negative feedback loops. This perspective ensures that linear, causal mechanical explanations of their dynamics are not sufficient. Multiple stable states (attractors) and unforeseen sudden changes (surprise) due to threshold dynamics are normal phenomena, as are inherent uncertainty and limited predictability due to nonlinear feedback mechanisms.

These insights suggest that the study of coupled human-environment systems requires an epistemology different from that used in traditional science. This realization provides the basis for the relational, integrative, participatory approach of integral ecology in its attempt to creating ever-evolving solutions to social-ecological problems that are specifically suited to the scope and urgency present at the human-environment interface.