Exploring the Future in a What-if Mode - A Philosophical and Critical Investigation into the Use of Scenarios in Climate Science
(2023) HEKM51 20231Human Geography
Department of Human Geography
Human Ecology
- Abstract
- The figure of scenarios is frequently used in present-day climate science and plays a prominent role in the architecture of the IPCC Reports. In this work, I undertake a philosophical and critical investigation into the ontological, epistemological and temporal modalities of the figure of scenario. I do so by engaging with the term’s supra-scientific origins, with the history of its semantic alterations as well as with its present-day applications across a variety of discourses — both scientific and non-scientific. I propose to analyse scenarios as examples of imagining and as such I embed my critique in what I label ‘critical imaginary studies’, coalescing around the critique of capitalist realism formulated by philosopher and cultural... (More)
- The figure of scenarios is frequently used in present-day climate science and plays a prominent role in the architecture of the IPCC Reports. In this work, I undertake a philosophical and critical investigation into the ontological, epistemological and temporal modalities of the figure of scenario. I do so by engaging with the term’s supra-scientific origins, with the history of its semantic alterations as well as with its present-day applications across a variety of discourses — both scientific and non-scientific. I propose to analyse scenarios as examples of imagining and as such I embed my critique in what I label ‘critical imaginary studies’, coalescing around the critique of capitalist realism formulated by philosopher and cultural critic Mark Fisher. I develop his concept of hauntology into a hermeneutic method to analyse one of scenarios central — thought frequently overlooked — characteristic, namely the agency of the virtual that inheres in it. I complement my philosophical reading of scenarios — which I perform consulting selected fragments of the latest Synthesis Report (IPCC: 2023) — with a historico-critical counterpart of my investigation, problematising its political dimension resulting from the particular present-day context of environmental and climate collapse. Ultimately, I argue for an alternative understanding of scenarios and futurity in climate science, one mindful of their inherent performativity. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9114387
- author
- Korbanski, Franciszek Wieslaw LU
- supervisor
-
- Andreas Malm LU
- organization
- course
- HEKM51 20231
- year
- 2023
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- scenario, future, the IPCC, Synthesis Report, Mark Fisher, hauntology
- language
- English
- id
- 9114387
- date added to LUP
- 2023-07-26 10:41:33
- date last changed
- 2023-07-26 10:41:33
@misc{9114387, abstract = {{The figure of scenarios is frequently used in present-day climate science and plays a prominent role in the architecture of the IPCC Reports. In this work, I undertake a philosophical and critical investigation into the ontological, epistemological and temporal modalities of the figure of scenario. I do so by engaging with the term’s supra-scientific origins, with the history of its semantic alterations as well as with its present-day applications across a variety of discourses — both scientific and non-scientific. I propose to analyse scenarios as examples of imagining and as such I embed my critique in what I label ‘critical imaginary studies’, coalescing around the critique of capitalist realism formulated by philosopher and cultural critic Mark Fisher. I develop his concept of hauntology into a hermeneutic method to analyse one of scenarios central — thought frequently overlooked — characteristic, namely the agency of the virtual that inheres in it. I complement my philosophical reading of scenarios — which I perform consulting selected fragments of the latest Synthesis Report (IPCC: 2023) — with a historico-critical counterpart of my investigation, problematising its political dimension resulting from the particular present-day context of environmental and climate collapse. Ultimately, I argue for an alternative understanding of scenarios and futurity in climate science, one mindful of their inherent performativity.}}, author = {{Korbanski, Franciszek Wieslaw}}, language = {{eng}}, note = {{Student Paper}}, title = {{Exploring the Future in a What-if Mode - A Philosophical and Critical Investigation into the Use of Scenarios in Climate Science}}, year = {{2023}}, }