Conclusions: A Proposal for a Brave New World of Conceptual Reflexivity

Abstract

This concluding chapter begins by elaborating on the importance of conceptual pluralization and reflexivity to confront contemporary tendencies of denialism and anti-reflexivity. It then offers critical reflections on the concepts explored in this volume, by returning to the three questions raised in the introductory chapter: What is the explanatory value of these concepts? What biases and blinders are embedded within them? What sort of action-orientation can they inspire? The chapter then discusses how a more robust and sociologically-informed understanding of society-environment relations, and its many spheres of structure and agency, can enrich our understanding of environmental degradation, complexity, social inertia and conditions for social transformation. The closing section addresses the critical role of sociological imagination and reflexivity to explore what future(s) may lie ahead.