OXQ and Schweitzer Institute Announce Strategic Partnership to Develop Dynamic Symmetry Theory
OXQ: The Oxford Quarterly Journal of Symmetry & Asymmetry and The Schweitzer Institute announce a new strategic partnership to advance dynamic symmetry theory as a unifying framework for understanding complex systems across science, ethics, and public policy.
Dynamic symmetry theory—also known as "Edge theory"—proposes that living and complex systems flourish at the shifting boundary between order and chaos, where things are just structured enough to hold together and just unpredictable enough to change. It redefines symmetry as a dynamic, generative process, suggesting that the deepest regularities in nature are not fixed laws but ongoing negotiations between stability and transformation.
Under the new partnership, OXQ will serve as the primary publishing and public‑facing platform for work on dynamic symmetry, while the Schweitzer Institute will embed the theory in its research and advocacy on environmental ethics, climate policy, biodiversity, and animal protection. The collaboration brings together OXQ’s interdisciplinary editorial leadership—spanning physics, biology, philosophy, and the arts—with the Schweitzer Institute’s commitment to applying environmental ethics in practice, from scholarship and education to policy and on‑the‑ground stewardship.
“Dynamic symmetry offers a way of seeing how resilience, creativity, and ethical responsibility arise from the same underlying pattern,” said Benedict Rattigan, Director of the Schweitzer Institute and founding editor of OXQ. “By working together, OXQ and the Institute can test that insight from quantum systems to ecosystems and institutions, and translate it into practical guidance for policy and stewardship.”
The partnership will include:
Joint research and publications
Co‑authored papers, symposia, and special issues of OXQ dedicated to the foundations and applications of dynamic symmetry in fields such as climate science, neuroscience, engineering, and ethics.
Conferences, seminars, and public events
A programme of lectures, workshops, and interdisciplinary gatherings—building on initiatives such as the Royal Society events on Edge theory—to bring scientists, philosophers, policymakers, and practitioners into sustained dialogue.
Applied projects in environmental ethics and policy
Collaborative work on conservation strategies, climate resilience, and animal protection that integrates Schweitzer’s reverence for life with dynamic symmetry’s emphasis on adaptive, feedback‑rich systems at the edge of chaos.
“Traditional conservation has often tried to hold ecosystems in place,” a Schweitzer Institute statement notes. “Dynamic symmetry shows that real resilience lies in maintaining a living balance between order and change. This partnership allows us to ground that insight in both ethical principle and empirical science.”
Visitors can learn more about dynamic symmetry theory and the new partnership at www.oxq.org.uk and explore the Schweitzer Institute’s work at www.schweitzer.institute
11 January 2026
'Traditional approaches to conservation often focus on preserving ecosystems in a particular state, resisting change and trying to maintain a fixed equilibrium. But dynamic symmetry theory suggests that healthy ecosystems, like other complex adaptive systems, operate at the edge of chaos. This perspective could lead to more effective strategies for dealing with climate change and other environmental challenges, recognising that resilience comes not from resistance to change but from the ability to adapt and evolve...'