Sustainability, Collective Self‐Regulation, and Human–Nature Interdependence

Abstract

AbstractLike any organism, humanity constructs its niche and adapts to the rest of nature by modifying available materials around them. In the era that some have dubbed the “Anthropocene,” human niche construction has gone so far as to threaten the planetary climate system. The central question of sustainability is how humanity can collectively self‐regulate niche construction, that is, humanity's relationship with the rest of nature. In this article, we argue that to resolve the collective self‐regulation problem for sustainability, sufficiently accurate and relevant aspects of causal knowledge about the functioning of complex social–ecological systems need to be cognized, communicated, and collectively shared. More specifically, causal knowledge about human–nature interdependence—how humans interact with each other and the rest of nature—is critical for coordinating cognitive agents’ thoughts, feelings, and actions for the greater good without falling into the trap of free riding. Here, we will develop a theoretical framework to consider the role of causal knowledge about human–nature interdependence in collective self‐regulation for sustainability, review the relevant empirical research primarily focusing on climate change, and take stock of what is currently known and what we need to investigate in the future.