Sensemaking - the New Frontier for Peace
The Science in Dialogue seminar series explores the relationship between the sciences, highlighting connections, mutual influences and common challenges. The aim is to stimulate critical and open discussion, fostering an integrated view of knowledge and offering food for thought on the very nature of scientific research in its cultural, historical and social context. Through interdisciplinary meetings, scholars from different fields and backgrounds will discuss the role of science in the construction of knowledge and in contemporary society. Central issues such as the relationship between science and history, the impact of scientific innovations on humanistic thought, the role of scientific communication and the tensions between specialisation and interdisciplinarity will be explored. Each seminar will be an opportunity to question how science contributes not only to technical progress, but also to the understanding of the world and man. The historical-philosophical perspective, in particular, will make it possible to highlight how science is not an isolated activity, but the result of a continuous dialogue with the social, cultural and intellectual context in which it develops, offering essential tools for interpreting the challenges of the present and the future.
Abstract
It is difficult to make sense of war. Sensemaking, defined as “gaining an understanding of the world to take action,” is a multidisciplinary field that seeks to translate this innately human capacity into methods that are appropriate for
organizations and society. Violence threatens cognitive capacities through trauma, shifts focus to reducing immediate threats, and dominates attention. Emerging technologies allow governments and private sector actors to directly influence our decision making by controlling what we see and who we interact with in virtual environments. With the recent US-Israeli strikes on Iran, it is important to understand how sensemaking capabilities at the individual and social level are threatened and how they can be bolstered to support peace. This talk will outline how sensemaking is emerging as the new frontier of peacebuilding theory and practice. Dr. Eggers will define sensemaking, describe how it has become a new domain for warfighting, introduce threats to sensemaking capabilities, and share the implications for peacebuilding.