SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY – THE GRAND DISRUPTORS AND SOLUTION PROVIDERS

Abstract

The role of science and technology as one of the most important pillars of sustainable development has been analysed within the new FLOGEN sustainability framework. Many distant and recent historical examples have been considered to make the point that science and technology are
grand disruptors of boundaries, borders, and ways of life, and they have opened society’s eyes to new serious problems and realities. The paper points out that science and technology are well credited for this great diagnostic role, but have been frequently ignored for their role as solution producers. Numerous examples illustrate the fact that usually solutions are sought far from science and technology, or without their close cooperation, and this has been in fact the cause of failures. It is shown that science and technology are grand solution providers, and this is clear from the distant, recent, and current realities, where they have proven wrong all non-scientific solutions or doomsday predictions. It is concluded that no sound long term solution can be found when science and technology are not considered as a solution provider as the pillar at the forefront of sustainable development, and this is even more so valid for the acute problems faced by the world today.