Transformational Wisdom for Equitable Resilience in a Changing Climate: Applying the Polyhedron Model of Wisdom
摘要
Anthropogenic climate change adversely affects our societies’ health, economy, and natural and built environments. In several regions, these adverse effects are compounded by non-climatic stressors, further elevating risks to various sectors. Previous studies have shown that historically underserved and socially vulnerable communities (HUSVCs), which face pre-existing barriers and have historically been excluded from the decision-making process, disproportionately suffer from the negative impacts of climate change. Therefore, in an era marked by rapid climatic changes and numerous non-climatic stressors, the need for societies to become more resilient while promoting equity and justice has never been more pressing. This chapter explores how transformational wisdom, an advanced form of wisdom aimed at improving the world, offers a viable pathway to contributing toward this goal. Unlike conventional wisdom, which focuses on resolving immediate conflicts and problems, transformational wisdom strives to create positive, meaningful, and enduring changes in the world. We employ the Polyhedron Model of Wisdom (PMW) to establish a roadmap toward employing transformational wisdom to empower society to become more resilient under the combined effects of climatic and non-climatic stressors while fostering equity and justice by prioritizing HUSVCs with lower risk thresholds and adaptive capacities. Specifically, we explain the continuation of different components of the PMW, including knowledge management, altruism, moral maturity, openness, tolerance, sound judgment, decision-making, intelligence, creative thinking, and dynamic balance, to guide us toward an equitably resilient society. Through this holistic and action-oriented approach, we can build resilient communities that can withstand today’s challenges and thrive in the face of tomorrow's uncertainties.