The systems approach is at the heart to IB Environmental Systems and Societies. It is useful to learn about the reductionism approach to help understand the systems approach by contrast.

IB ESS students should be able to view all topics and ideas covered on the course from a systems perspective

Lesson 1: Systems

Lesson 2: Feedback and Resilience

Lesson 3: The Gaia Hypothesis

Lesson 4: Models

Lesson 5: Building a Mesocosm

Theory of Knowledge

  • To what extent can systems thinking help us predict outcomes in complex environmental scenarios, and what are the limitations of such predictions?
  • How do the assumptions made in systems thinking affect the ethical considerations surrounding the manipulation or management of natural systems?