Problem-solving

Dissolving problems
Solving problems
Finding solutions to problems
Seeking solution to problems

Description

A wider approach to the study of human task-oriented behaviour than epistemology, logic, or scientific method, as it also includes such things as motivation, cultural influences, tradition, personality, context, etc.

Implementation

A heuristic is a problem-solving strategy used when no step-by-step procedure is applicable. It can also be a set of instructions for searching out an unknown goal by incremental exploration, to some unknown criterion, for example by following the instruction to make every step upward, a person can reach the top of a hill even in a fog and without knowing the location or height of the top.

Claim

The solution to a problem changes the nature of the problem.

A necessary step in the transition to a sustainable path is to shift from problem-solving to creating solutions. Problems are negative things which we would like to eliminate. However, eliminating the problem does not necessarily get us what we want. We often frame problems in such narrow ways that the solutions are not lasting and may create other problems later on or in some other place. The way we have dealt with most environmental issues such as air or water pollution is to view them as discrete problems whose solutions end up often moving pollution around rather than getting to the root of the problem and eliminating it. Creating, on the other hand, is a process of bringing into existence some thing or situation that we want which is usually a much better motivator for change than a problem we need to eliminate.