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Exploring the role of empathy when intervening at deep leverage points of human–nature relationships
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DOI：10.1080/26395916.2026.2682076.png)
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Abstract
En 中文
Despite being qualitatively different, wickedly complex problems are often still tackled in the same way as simple challenges. We draw on the concept of leverage points from systems thinking to suggest that simple solutions target shallow leverage points that tend to entrench rather than change policy trajectories, research agendas and practices. What is needed are transcendental changes to system goals at deep leverage points and, as a corollary, the criteria used to assess (research) praxis. Drawing on systems thinking, we conducted three experiments with a selection of environmental scientists to test the hypothesis that ‘If Nature wrote our research strategies, we would do different research and/or do research for different reasons’. Participants were invited to re-write research strategies or develop a research proposal ‘as’ elements of Nature: air, water, soils, plants and animals. Our findings contribute to systems thinking by highlighting empathy as a competence or disposition that enables reciprocity as a system goal. Empathy can be a powerful meta-competence for re-organising [research] praxis by potentially reframing the purpose (deep leverage) of research and the criteria against which [research] practices are evaluated. A comparison of Nature’s strategies and proposals with existing documents shows how useful the concept of empathy can be for humans to foster more reciprocal relationships with Nature.
Keywords:
Suneetha Subramanian
Empathy
nature
reciprocity
systems thinking
social practice theory
deep leverage
Aotearoa/New Zealand
Journal
IF:
3.7
Papers:
314
Citations:
1.0K