Restricted and large-scale sustainability

This article argues for a new way of approaching sustainability, reconsidering its fundamental assumptions. It describes two contrasting stances, namely ‘restricted’ and ‘large-scale’ sustainability. Restricted sustainability, i.e. the current dominant approach, focuses mostly on human welfare and is still rooted in a dualistic (man/nature) conception and an underlying sense of separateness. Large-scale sustainability instead centres on the concept of interdependence, seeking to rediscover the multiple patterns of connections that typify the world, and to uphold an overall (thus not only human) enduring welfare. The article also illustrates how knowledge co-production, i.e. a methodology currently employed in sustainability science, can contribute to large-scale sustainability. Such a methodology fosters, in fact, the inclusion of alternative cultural perspectives and knowledge traditions, like Indigenous ones, which can provide insight on the subject. In its last part, the article discusses the relation between knowledge, values, and behaviour, supporting the idea that sustainability science should combine the pursuit of knowledge with ethical engagement and commitment to action. This too would contribute to the development of large-scale sustainability. Indigenous epistemologies are explored in this context, as they provide models of ethically oriented knowledge that should be translated into proper conduct towards the entire community of living beings.