Complex Problem Solving

This is one of two volumes comprising the proceedings of an international conference on 'Complex Problem Solving'. The focus of the present volume is an attempt to make as transparent as possible the demands on the agents to cope with complex problems. As an example climate change and its socio-economic consequences was choosen. It is in the nature of such a creeping problem, that the human agents called upon to think about and act upon them, first of all need to raise their awareness of them to a level, which causes appropriate actions.
Given what we know about individual and societal deficiences in coping with complex problems of this and similar nature, progress, if it is to come, will not take the form of a quantum leap, but rather of adaptive, if not recursive, steps or iterations. An important part of learning comes from doing: an essentially salutary lesson is often taught us by the realisation that the problem, as initially conceived and formulated, does not admit of a comprehensive and definitive solution, but, if, re-defined, it may become more amendable to transformation, if not final solution.
If we are to respond to the challenge of climate change, we need to know more about its nature and possible consequences, but a fortiori we need to know about man´s cognitive-psychological and emotional capacity to cope with problems of such an uncertain, dynamic and complex nature. Here we are confronted with a range of issues such as: decision making and planning, the interaction of cognition and emotions, culture-linked aspects of human problem solving, the resistance to change and economic aspects of the utilisation of scarce resources. As we move from the positive to the normative sphere, we encounter further problems at the interface of science and politics and the practical implementation of environmental policy. These concerns are carried over into the companion volume (Volume 6), which is on methodological support for societal policy making.