Ecocentrism
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Ecocentrism (
Origin of term
The ecocentric ethic was conceived by Aldo Leopold[3] and recognizes that all species, including humans, are the product of a long evolutionary process and are inter-related in their life processes.[4] The writings of Aldo Leopold and his idea of the land ethic and good environmental management are a key element to this philosophy. Ecocentrism focuses on the biotic community as a whole and strives to maintain ecosystem composition and ecological processes.[5] The term also finds expression in the first principle of the deep ecology movement, as formulated by Arne Næss and George Sessions in 1984[6] which points out that anthropocentrism, which considers humans as the center of the universe and the pinnacle of all creation, is a difficult opponent for ecocentrism.[7]
Background
Environmental thought and the various branches of the environmental movement are often classified into two intellectual camps: those that are considered anthropocentric, or "human-centred," in orientation and those considered biocentric, or "life-centred". This division has been described in other terminology as "shallow" ecology versus "deep" ecology and as "technocentrism" versus "ecocentrism". Ecocentrism[8] can be seen as one stream of thought within environmentalism, the political and ethical movement that seeks to protect and improve the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities by adopting environmentally benign forms of political, economic, and social organization and through a reassessment of humanity's relationship with nature. In various ways, environmentalism claims that non-human organisms and the natural environment as a whole deserve consideration when appraising the morality of political, economic, and social policies.[9]
Relationship to other similar philosophies
Anthropocentrism
Ecocentrism is taken by its proponents to constitute a radical challenge to long-standing and deeply rooted
Industrocentrism
It sees all things on earth as resources to be utilized by humans or to be commodified. This view is the opposite of anthropocentrism and ecocentrism.[14]
Technocentrism
Ecocentrism is also contrasted with technocentrism (meaning values centred on technology) as two opposing perspectives on attitudes towards human technology and its ability to affect, control and even protect the environment. Ecocentrics, including "deep green" ecologists, see themselves as being subject to nature, rather than in control of it. They lack faith in modern technology and the bureaucracy attached to it. Ecocentrics will argue that the natural world should be respected for its processes and products, and that low impact technology and self-reliance is more desirable than technological control of nature.[15] Technocentrics,[16] including imperialists, have absolute faith in technology and industry and firmly believe that humans have control over nature. Although technocentrics may accept that environmental problems do exist, they do not see them as problems to be solved by a reduction in industry. Indeed, technocentrics see that the way forward for developed and developing countries and the solutions to our environmental problems today lie in scientific and technological advancement.[15]
Biocentrism
The distinction between biocentrism [17] and ecocentrism is ill-defined. Ecocentrism recognizes Earth's interactive living and non-living systems rather than just the Earth's organisms (biocentrism) as central in importance.[18] The term has been used by those advocating "left biocentrism", combining deep ecology with an "anti-industrial and anti-capitalist" position (David Orton et al.).
See also
- Deep ecology
- Earth liberation
- Ecosophy
- Ecocentric embodied energy analysis
- Environmentalism
- Ecological humanities
- Radical environmentalism
- Ecofeminism § Criticism
- Gaia hypothesis
- Holocentric
- Sentiocentrism
- Social ecology (Bookchin)
- Technocentrism
References
- ^ Milstein, T. & Castro-Sotomayor, J. (2020). Routledge Handbook of Ecocultural Identity. London, UK: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351068840
- ^ Answers.com. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
- ^ Leopold, A. 1949. A sand county almanac. New York: Oxford University Press.
- ISBN 0-643-09089-4
- ^ Booth, D.E. 1992. The economics and ethics of old growth forests. Environmental Ethics 14: 43-62.
- ^ Arne Næss|Naess, Arne & Sessions, George 1984. "A Deep Ecology Eight Point Platform" cited in Deep Ecology for the 21st Century, Readings on the Philosophy and Practice of the New Environmentalism, ed. George Sessions, Shambhala, Boston and London, 1995.
- ^ "Papers on "Ecocentrism and the Deep Ecology Platform" and similar term paper topics". AcaDemon. 2008. Archived from the original on May 18, 2008.
- S2CID 149813545.
- ^ "environmentalism". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
- ^ Ecocentrism at answers.com
- ^ Naess, Arne 1973. "The Shallow and the Deep, Long-Range Ecology Movement". Inquiry 16: 95-100
- ISSN 2472-5889.
- ^ see Rowe
- ISBN 9781315858630.
- ^ a b "Earth, ecocentrism and Technocentrism".
- ^ "List of issues Theory Into Practice". www.tandfonline.com. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
- S2CID 171845388.
- ^ "Ecocentrism". The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com.. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
Further reading
- Bosselmann, K. 1999. When Two Worlds Collide: Society and Ecology. ISBN 0-9597948-3-2
- Eckersley, R. 1992. Environmentalism and Political Theory: Toward an Ecocentric Approach. State University of New York Press.
- Hettinger, Ned and Throop, Bill 1999. Refocusing Ecocentrism: De-emphasizing Stability and Defending Wilderness. Environmental Ethics 21: 3-21.