Environmentalism Values and Philosophy Views of Society Environmentalists

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Environmentalism: Values and Philosophy • Views of Society, Environmentalists and Environmentalism • Environmental Ideologies

Environmentalism: Values and Philosophy • Views of Society, Environmentalists and Environmentalism • Environmental Ideologies & Link to Environmental Management

Session Objectives 1. Understand the different classifications for environmentalism – Technocentrism – Ecocentrism 2.

Session Objectives 1. Understand the different classifications for environmentalism – Technocentrism – Ecocentrism 2. Identify some of the leading environmental thinkers and activists associated with each of the above typologies

Views of Society • Society - the social organisation and associated institutions that shape

Views of Society • Society - the social organisation and associated institutions that shape human behaviour • Typically societies have rules of behaviour, division of roles and punishments, dependent on – Gender – Age – Knowledge and skills – Control over means of production – Place of origin – Background • Citizenship - “social and moral responsibility to each other”

Societal Rules Many forms of control vital to societal functioning • Religion and creation

Societal Rules Many forms of control vital to societal functioning • Religion and creation mythologies • Political Laws - social consensus • Culture, customs and fashions Usually controlled at national level by Institutions - State, church, market and business, education, police etc. For individual / communities culture and social values more important

Society - Environment Links • How we perceive and behave towards the environment is

Society - Environment Links • How we perceive and behave towards the environment is closely linked to societal norms - • Religion - – Creation story of one God creating the earth and universe and then humans in his image (Judaism, Christianity & Islam) => Envt to use and exploit – Bhuddism & Hinduism - holistic view that sees humankind as part of, & inseparable from the wider envt - have animal and plant deities and sacred rivers … – Indigenous cultures - often have plant and animal deities and a feeling of ‘belonging’ to the land

Indigenous Philosophies & Knowledge • Inter-relationships between different env systems and appreciation of processes

Indigenous Philosophies & Knowledge • Inter-relationships between different env systems and appreciation of processes central - “an appreciation of the whole” • Now recognised as having great env management potential - offer insights lost due to the split between academic disciplines and the search for ‘objective’ scientific facts

Environmentalist/ism • A specialist in the maintenance of ecological balance and the conservation of

Environmentalist/ism • A specialist in the maintenance of ecological balance and the conservation of the environment – Collins Concise English Dictionary Definition • The ‘green’ ideas about the relationship between society and nature – David Pepper, 1996

Many modern environmentalist would prefer to believe that … • The environmental crisis is

Many modern environmentalist would prefer to believe that … • The environmental crisis is obvious • Scientific evidence objectively shows this to be the case • Provided enough of us realise this and see the evidence we must and will recognise the need to act differently • Thus avoiding a messy ideological debate

Why ideologies are important “Ideologies are sets of ideas that form the basis of

Why ideologies are important “Ideologies are sets of ideas that form the basis of a personal or group ‘world view’: a particular perspective on how the world is, and ought to be” Pepper, 1996, p. 2. They tell us about a person’s (individual) or an organisation’s (collective) values, ethic, morals, principles, beliefs & thus decisions and actions

Task • In groups of 3 -4 • Take the environmental issue of biodiversity

Task • In groups of 3 -4 • Take the environmental issue of biodiversity • List as many reasons as you can for why whales should be saved • Can any of these reasons be classified into themes or typologies?

Environmentalism has multiple meanings – Many ways of perceiving humankinds relationship to the planet

Environmentalism has multiple meanings – Many ways of perceiving humankinds relationship to the planet – Many ways of understanding the problems – Many competing solutions “the environmental issue mean such different things that in aggregate it quite literally encompasses everything” David Harvey

Theocentric • God centred argument • Based on Judeo-Christian and Islamic Faiths • Nature

Theocentric • God centred argument • Based on Judeo-Christian and Islamic Faiths • Nature and living species are divine creations • The human species has a stewardship duty to protect and respect nature (Genesis 1: 26 God grants man dominion …. )

Technocentrism • Anthropocentric • Based on scientific reductionism • Human intervention and development can

Technocentrism • Anthropocentric • Based on scientific reductionism • Human intervention and development can enhance and improve nature • Nature – Is benign ‘capable of quick recovery from human interference’ – Objectified – There to serve human interests – Only has instrumental value

Cornucopians • • Optimistic faith in human ingenuity Pro-growth (economic) Faith in science and

Cornucopians • • Optimistic faith in human ingenuity Pro-growth (economic) Faith in science and technology Suspicious of widening public participation • Believe the economy will self-correct

Environmental Managers • Pro-growth, but interventions necessary to control & compensation the worst excesses

Environmental Managers • Pro-growth, but interventions necessary to control & compensation the worst excesses • Allowance for wider consultation in decision-making process

Ecocentrism • Philosophical roots – Romanticism: Thoreau, Whitman, Ruskin – Eastern thinking: Buddhism, Taoism

Ecocentrism • Philosophical roots – Romanticism: Thoreau, Whitman, Ruskin – Eastern thinking: Buddhism, Taoism • Nature – has intrinsic value in its own right – is a community not a commodity – respect the utility and beauty of nature – we should try to live in harmony with the natural world

Self-Reliance / Soft Technologies • Bioregionalism, small-scale local solutions • Communitarian; linking of work

Self-Reliance / Soft Technologies • Bioregionalism, small-scale local solutions • Communitarian; linking of work and leisure • Importance of participation, recognition of minority rights • Appropriate Technology • Materialism for its own sake is wrong

Deep Ecology • Bio-ethics • Ecological laws should underpin human morality • Biorights •

Deep Ecology • Bio-ethics • Ecological laws should underpin human morality • Biorights • Distrust of large-scale technology, elites, central state authority • Materialism for its own sake is wrong

Task outside of the today’s session • Read in greater depth about some of

Task outside of the today’s session • Read in greater depth about some of the individuals that represent the technocentric and ecocentric environmentalism • Begin to understand the beliefs and values that influences the way they frame the environmental crisis and their preferred solutions

Key References Gandy, M. (1996) Crumbling land: the Post-modernity Debate and the Analysis of

Key References Gandy, M. (1996) Crumbling land: the Post-modernity Debate and the Analysis of Environmental Problems, Progress in Human Geography, 20(1) pp. 23 -40. Guha, R. (2000) Environmentalism: A Global History, Longman, New York. Huxham, D. (2000) ‘Why conserve wild species? ’ in Huxham, M. and Sumner, D. Science and Environmental Decisionmaking, Prentice-hall, Harlow. O’Riordan, T. (1983) An Annotated Reader in Environmental Planning and Management, Pergamon Press, Oxford. Palmer, J. (2001) Fifty Key Thinkers on the Environment, Routledge, London. Pepper, D. (1996) Modern Environmentalism, Routledge, London.