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and contingent upon one's values and beliefs. Following this reasoning, there is no
single, scientifi c reality, and problems to be investigated and acted upon should be
framed by a variety of interested parties.
Many concepts underlie the social sciences. We highlight the following because,
for the most part, they distinguish human activities and organizations from the rest
of the biological world and from the inanimate objects of infrastructure. Of enor-
mous importance is the human ability to learn, encode knowledge, and to transmit
it to others over time. This has given rise to culture, which can be understood as
patterns of learned behavior that facilitate the operation of society, help situate peo-
ple within their groups, and distinguish groups from each other. These patterns are
enhanced by the human ability to learn from the past. To anticipate and plan for the
future, humans self-organize themselves into enduring family and kinship relations,
as well as by assigning tasks, abilities, and beliefs. The success of societies often is
related to individual human ability or proclivity to exhibit leadership, and in other
cases to self-organize for taking collective action. In addition to the various biologi-
cal drivers that we share to some extent with other species, people also act on values
that are passed on to them through culture. Most people believe in basic 'rights' that
they are entitled to, and a system of right from wrong that guides their own behavior.
Individual behavior often is related to perceived individual advantages, but also
includes altruistic behavior benefi ting others, such as one's offspring or members of
one's own group. Other distinguishing concepts organize group behavior; among
the most important is the ability to organize interactions in order to receive an
advantage or profi t from activities such as the exchange of goods or provision of
services. Humans have further enhanced this ability by endowing these temporary
advantages with lasting qualities by transforming them into monetary instruments,
differential future access to productive resources, or social status.
17.3
Technology and the Challenge to Earth Stewardship
The core argument of this chapter is that infrastructural-technological systems oper-
ate with a distinct logic, or set of rules and concepts, that only can be understood
and managed by considering them independently in SETs conceptual frameworks.
Those working primarily in the infrastructural domain rely on a variety of physical/
chemical/mechanical 'laws' to envision and design their products, but also have
adopted ideas originating in the other two domains. Infrastructure is highly valued
in society since it usually provides services such as transportation, housing, energy,
water, etc. that might not be possible without it, or at least at a more reasonable price
than would be possible without it. Other infrastructure buffers individuals and com-
munities against the effects of disamenities, such as seasonal variation in tempera-
ture, waste water disposal, or extreme natural hazards. Because of these services
and protections, infrastructure is used as a primary tool for managing risk, and
therefore for allowing the expansion of communities into geographic locations that
are susceptible to hazards. A central characteristic of infrastructure (or
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