Published In
Ecology and Society
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-2022
Subjects
Climatic changes -- Research, Case studies, Climate change, Climate change adaptation, Climate models, Communicatio, Community involvement, Community organizations, Community structure, Decision making, Philosophy, Resilience, Risk analysis, Risk communication
Abstract
In this article, we describe a project in which philosophy, in combination with methods drawn from mental modeling, was used to structure dialogue among stakeholders in a region-scale climate adaptation process. The case study we discuss synthesizes the Toolbox dialogue method, a philosophically grounded approach to enhancing communication and collaboration in complex research and practice, with a mental modeling approach rooted in risk analysis, assessment, and communication to structure conversations among non-academic stakeholders who have a common interest in planning for a sustainable future. We begin by describing the background of this project, including details about climate resiliency efforts in West Michigan and the Toolbox dialogue method, which was extended in this project from academic research into community organization involving the West Michigan Climate Resiliency Framework Initiative. This extension involved application of several methods, which are the focus of the Methods section. We then present and discuss preliminary results that suggest the potential for philosophical dialogue to enhance mutual understanding in complex community initiatives that focus on sustainable responses to climate change. Overall, the article supplies a detailed, instructive example of how philosophy can support policy-relevant decision-making processes at the community level.
Rights
Copyright (c) 2022 The Authors
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Locate the Document
DOI
10.5751/ES-13282-270221
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/38403
Citation Details
Cwik, B., Gonnerman, C., O'Rourke, M., Robinson, B., & Schoonmaker, D. (2022). Building community capacity with philosophy: Toolbox dialogue and climate resilience. Ecology and Society, 27(2).