Tipping points and the human world: Living with change and thinking about the future

Abstract

The term "tipping point" has become increasingly popular in scientific and media usage to refer to the world in which we live, to describe the probable effects of the processes arising from the consequences of the ways we live with and transform the world, to describe our relationships with the environment, and the effects of our actions.Through this shift in scientific thinking, climate is talked about and represented as having the power to influence our lives in ways we have never before experienced or imagined, suggesting something transformative, disruptive, and decentering. Yet, in doing so, the complexity of the human world is explained in terms of scientificmodels that suggest a return to climatic determinism that simplifies our understanding of human-environment relations. How is anthropology to contribute to this discussion and to research and policy action on climate change? This article reflects on this and other questions as a way of contributing to the discussion of tipping points: are tipping points and thresholds metaphors, are they to be understood within contexts of speculative forecast, or are they descriptions of real events and indications of future change? What do we mean when we use these terms to imagine, describe, and represent the world?What relevance do they have for anticipatory knowledge and anticipatory practice? Indeed, howdoes anticipation guide us through a world of shifting conditions and sudden surprises and influence ways we orient ourselves toward the future? © 2012 Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.