Abstract
Chapter 11 provides a starting point for discussing the methodological implications from my ethical analysis for sustainability research. I shortly refer to the literature on the topic and recent methodological conceptions, such as sustainability science, post-normal science, transdisciplinarity, or mode2 science. I argue that these conceptions have mainly focused on four aspects: (1) the integration of several disciplines, (2) the integration of science and society, (3) the reference to localness, time, and uncertainty, and (4) action and problem orientation. All these aspects are without doubt of importance for the design of sustainability research. However, I argue that the ethical dimension of sustainability has been neglected, and important implications for sustainability research have not been recognized. In particular, the ethical meaning of science itself in regard to sustainability has rarely been considered so far. In contrast, I aim to draw conclusions from the specific characteristics of the inherent ethical dimension of sustainability for the adequate design of sustainability research.
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This does not mean that science is the only way to refer to the factual dimension of sustainability. Many cultures have based their reference to this dimension on other types of recognition and knowledge, for instance, on personal experience and know-how, and on transfer of this knowledge from person to person. However, considering the current status quo, the crucial role of science for the understanding and constitution has to be taken into account. It seems to be more fruitful to include and redesign this approach than to completely deny it (see also Chap. 13).
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Becker, C.U. (2012). The Need for a New Type of Sustainability Research. In: Sustainability Ethics and Sustainability Research. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2285-9_11
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