Complex Systems and Systemic Risk - Interdisciplinary Perspectives
Informacje ogólne
Kod przedmiotu: | 3700-ISSC-CSSR-OG |
Kod Erasmus / ISCED: |
13.9
|
Nazwa przedmiotu: | Complex Systems and Systemic Risk - Interdisciplinary Perspectives |
Jednostka: | Wydział "Artes Liberales" |
Grupy: |
Courses in foreign languages Przedmioty ogólnouniwersyteckie humanistyczne Przedmioty ogólnouniwersyteckie na Uniwersytecie Warszawskim Przedmioty ogólnouniwersyteckie Wydziału "Artes Liberales" |
Punkty ECTS i inne: |
(brak)
|
Język prowadzenia: | angielski |
Rodzaj przedmiotu: | ogólnouniwersyteckie |
Założenia (opisowo): | Ability to work with scientific text in English |
Skrócony opis: |
The lecture is to familiarize the audience with interdisciplinary research on complex systems, the functioning of which is related to the occurrence of the so-called systemic risk. |
Pełny opis: |
A complex system is a very ambiguous concept, even from the point of view of the exact sciences. And even more so in social sciences and philosophy. Complex systems are the subject of research, among others biology, sociology, psychology, computer science, mathematics, automation, cybernetics and philosophy. During the lecture, we will present an analysis of various systems considered complex and we will try to find common features, as well as compare research methods used in various fields of science. Probably the most frequently cited example of a complex system is climate. Climate is not only „statistics of weather conditions” - it is a complex set of phenomena on the planet’s surface, responsible for the conditions that make life possible. During the lecture, energy flows in the climate system will be discussed. We will answer questions as we observe, understand and change the climate system. We will explain how the biosphere and the carbon cycle work, and the impact of its disturbances on life on our planet. We will show what its future and the future of life on Earth look like from the perspective of climate research. We will consider what lessons we can learn from this research for the future and why seemingly minor disturbances in the complex system can have catastrophic consequences A system as complex as climate is the biosphere. According to Gaia’s hypothesis, the biosphere functions as a self-regulating system. It consists of a series of feedback loops between animate and inanimate components of the atmosphere and the Earth’s crust. The physical and chemical conditions sustained on our planet are optimal for the phenomenon of life, and the unique functioning of the Earth-Gaia suggests its purposefulness. The above formulation of the Gaia hypothesis, presented in the 1970s by James Lovelock and Lynn Margullis, was rejected by biology due to the non-compliance with the falsifiability criterion and naive teleology. The authors of its latest version, Gaia 2.0, biogeochemist Timothy Lenton and sociologist Bruno Latour try to avoid the above methodological weaknesses and at the same time propose a cross-domain research program to face the challenge of global climate change. We intend to introduce the concept of Gaia 2.0 and conduct a critical analysis of it in terms of its usefulness as a platform for cooperation between natural scientists, humanists and sociologists. Another example of a complex system is the interaction between man and the natural environment, which we want to show on the example of the collapse of a centralized political organism, which was the Roman Empire in late antiquity in the region of the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Based on the data collected over the last few years at numerous archaeological sites, we will present the impact of climate change on settlement in the Late Roman period and we will place the climate against the background of other factors forcing changes in the settlement network and migration processes. Technology is a complex system that we deal with every day. In many ways, it contributes to improving people’s well-being. However, it also has negative side effects and may be associated with the risk of accidents, sometimes of a global or existential scale. The burning issue is to develop methods of assessing whether the risk associated with the development and use of a given type of technology is acceptable. During the lecture, we will discuss ways to assess the acceptability of technologies based on risk-benefit analysis and the contribution of interdisciplinary research. |
Literatura: |
Bostrom N., Ćirković M.M. (2008) Global Catastrophic Risks, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Bradley, R. (2015) Paleoclimatology: Reconstructing Climates of the Quaternary, Oxford: Elsevier. Bradshaw C.J.A, Ehrlich P.R., Beattie A., Ceballos G., Crist E., Diamond J., Dirzo R., Ehrlich A.H., Harte J., Harte M.E., Pyke G., Raven P.H., Ripple W.J., Saltré F., Turnbull C., Wackernagel M. and Blumstein D.T. (2021) Underestimating the Challenges of Avoiding a Ghastly Future. Front. Conserv. Sci. 1:615419. doi: 10.3389/fcosc.2020.615419 Crawford K. (2021) Atlas of AI: Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence, New Haven - London: Yale University Press. deMenocal P. B. (2001), Cultural responses to climate change during the Late Holocene, Science, 292, 667, doi: 10.116/science.1059827. IPBES (2019): Summary for policymakers of the global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. S. Díaz, J. Settele, E. S. Brondízio, H. T. Ngo, M. Guèze, J. Agard, A. Arneth, P. Balvanera, K. A. Brauman, S. H. M. Butchart, K. M. A. Chan, L. A. Garibaldi, K. Ichii, J. Liu, S. M. Subramanian, G. F. Midgley, P. Miloslavich, Z. Molnár, D. Obura, A. Pfaff, S. Polasky, A. Purvis, J. Razzaque, B. Reyers, R. Roy Chowdhury, Y. J. Shin, I. J. Visseren-Hamakers, K. J. Willis, and C. N. Zayas (eds.). IPBES secretariat, Bonn, Germany, doi: 10.5281/zenodo.3553579 Ladyman, J., Wiesner, K. (2020). What Is a Complex System. Yale: Yale University Press Pasquale F. (2015) The Black Box Society: The Secret Algorithms That Control Money and Information, Cambridge – London: Harvard University Press. Popkiewicz, M. Kardaś, A., Malinowski S. (2019) Nauka o klimacie, Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Nieoczywiste - Sonia Draga. Wanner H., Beer J., Bütikofer J., Crowley T.J., Cubasch U., Flückiger J., Goosse H., Grosjean M., Joos F., Kaplan J. O., Küttel M., Müller S. A., Prentice I. C., Solomina O., Stocker T. F., Tarasov P., Wagner M. and Widmann (2008), Mid-to Late Holocene climate change: an overview, Quaternary Science Reviews, 27(19-20), 1791-1828. doi: 10.1016/j.quasi-cirev.2008.06.013. |
Efekty uczenia się: |
K_W02 knows how to use terms used in humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences K_W03 knows and understands disciplinary relations between humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences K_W04 knows how to use methods of analysis and interpretation of scholarly texts K_W05 is familiar with the latest interdisciplinary research methods in humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences K_W07 is familiar with basic principles of academic communication in humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences K_U01 can select and critically assess information adopted from various academic publications, popular science, and popular press K_U08 knows how to analyse scholarly publications in the area of humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences in Polish and a foreign language K_K02 is willing to further develop their academic skills in humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences and is up to date with the latest research methods and paradigms |
Metody i kryteria oceniania: |
Regular attendance in classes. Acceptable number of absences per semester: 2 h. Conditions for passing the course are regular attendance in classes (no unjustified absences) and passing exam in the form of a test. |
Właścicielem praw autorskich jest Uniwersytet Warszawski, Wydział Chemii.