Public Lecture Series - Arthur Keller (warwick.ac.uk)Link opens in a new window

Date: Wednesday, 8 November 2023, 2 – 4 pm

Location: Room R3.41, Ramphal Building

About:

Arthur Keller is a specialist in systemic risks and strategies toward collective resilience. He teaches systems thinking at the prestigious Centrale Supélec engineering school, trains elected representatives in community security, works with local authorities and public agencies, has advised the French National Assembly as part of a parliamentary task force on national resilience, and is also one of the leading French specialists in low-tech innovation.

In this lecture for the School for Cross-faculty Studies, Arthur will demonstrate how to use systems thinking to characterize the arch-predicament of our time: planetary overshoot. Mankind's ability to pull through this challenge in a dignified manner will condition the possibility of dealing with all other problems.

Then, he will discuss the fundamental difference between multidisciplinarity and systemics: the latter provides crucial keys to rethink the issues so as to come up with a coherent perception of the scope of possible pathways. Thereupon, participants will figure out why many of the options we perceive as "solutions" won't actually solve anything, and the limits of existing tools and delineate the room for manoeuvre that we have left. Finally, participants will explore what can be done, outline a strategy and provide attendees with general principles and actionable levers, give them some warnings and methodological advice, and share with them some useful insight to empower them to catalyze meaningful transformation.