In connection to the levels of institutional education that individuals attain, an assumed line of separation between ‘the masses’ and ‘the scholars’ seems to have persisted for long in popular perception, which should ideally not encroach upon the contemplative potential exercised by the individuals in society. The cognitive-creative flourishment of individuals in society should, thus, not have any necessary connection to one’s mastery of reductionist disciplines of knowledge. In an age characterized by the emergence of ‘the grand crisis of sustainability’, it is the case for two additional reasons:

1. The intellectual root of ‘the crisis of sustainability’: The advancement of knowledge in segregated academic disciplines through the exercise of the reductionist mode of inquiry gives rise to an unintended seepage along the interstitial spaces of the artificial borders of these disciplines, which amount to represent the unintended consequences of the creation of artifacts that, although being meant to improve the quality of life, have unwittingly facilitated the emergence of the crisis of sustainability.

2. The scholarship of sustainability presenting an opportunity for the creation of mass ownership of ‘sustainability thinking’: The wider, non-reductionist yet robust intellectual lens that characterizes the scholarship of sustainability presents an opportunity for the creation of mass ownership of ‘sustainability thinking’, which could, in turn, empower society in undertaking meaningful actions toward solving the problems of unsustainability, and thus, drive positive, collective change.

The book titled ‘Thinking in Sustainability’ (Hossain 2025) addressed this need.

Reference

A. M. M. Maruf Hossain. (2025). Thinking in Sustainability. Bright Life Series: Book #1. Center for Integrated Knowledge Invention, Melbourne, Australia. ISBN: 978-1-7643512-0-1 (paperback), 978-1-7643512-1-8 (hardcover), 978-1-7643512-2-5 (ebook). [see book extract in Publications page].