The Mental Component of the Earth System

This chapter explores how the mental component of the Earth system functions and interacts with the physical and biological systems of the planet. A tetrarchical loop is used to illustrate the four elements of the mental component: • GeoScope (the interplay between observation and theory), • GeoGraphy (the reintroduction of generalized knowledge into social contexts), • GeoMind (aspects of identity), and • GeoAction (interplay between governance and representation).

The ability to transfer understanding from local to global levels, e.g., through macro-scopes, is a central challenge in managing the future of the Earth system. Management goals should be identified through a continuous process, based on the awareness that a multiplicity of global realities and situations exist, that there is partiality of knowledge, that observation is often influenced by theory, and that an empirical basis is needed for a science of sustainability.