It Requires More Than Intelligence to Solve Consequential World Problems.

Joachim Funke

doi:10.3390/jintelligence9030038

Abstract

What are consequential world problems? As “grand societal challenges”, one might define them as problems that affect a large number of people, perhaps even the entire planet, including problems such as climate change, distributive justice, world peace, world nutrition, clean air and clean water, access to education, and many more. The “Sustainable Development Goals”, compiled by the United Nations, represent a collection of such global problems. From my point of view, these problems can be seen as complex. Such complex problems are characterized by the complexity, connectivity, dynamics, intransparency, and polytely of their underlying systems. These attributes require special competencies for dealing with the uncertainties of the given domains, e.g., critical thinking. My position is that it is not IQ, but complex problem-solving competencies for dealing with complex and dynamic situations, that is important for handling consequential global problems. These problems require system competencies, i.e., competencies that go beyond analytical intelligence, and comprise systems understanding as well as systems control. Complex problem solving is more than analytic intelligence.

Highlights

This article is an open access article. The editors of this Special Issue have asked me to respond to the statement: “How intelligence can be a solution to consequential world problems”
What exactly are consequential world problems? Why should intelligence be relevant to their solutions? What other skills would help in solving global problems? The answer I give here to these questions is based on my personal opinion, rather than on an evidence-based review of the literature
To define global problems? As “grand societal challenges”, one might define them as problems that affect a large number of people, perhaps even the entire planet, including problems such as climate change, distributive justice, world peace, world nutrition, clean air and clean water, access to education, and many more

Summary

Introduction

The editors of this Special Issue have asked me to respond to the statement: “How intelligence can be a solution to consequential world problems”. What other skills would help in solving global problems? Tried to define “the world’s biggest problems” in terms of costs and benefits. [in German: “lebensunwertes Leben”] to evaluate different qualities of life), this approach suffers from the issue of giving a monetary value to human life. As “grand societal challenges”, one might define them as problems that affect a large number of people, perhaps even the entire planet, including problems such as climate change, distributive justice, world peace, world nutrition, clean air and clean water, access to education, and many more To define global problems? As “grand societal challenges”, one might define them as problems that affect a large number of people, perhaps even the entire planet, including problems such as climate change, distributive justice, world peace, world nutrition, clean air and clean water, access to education, and many more

The Challenges

Proposed Solution

Dealing with Uncertainty

Findings

Conclusions