Ecopsychology

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Ecopsychology is an

more than human world.[5] A central premise is that while the mind is shaped by the modern world, its underlying structure was created in a natural non-human environment.[6] Ecopsychology seeks to expand and remedy the emotional connection between humans and nature, treating people psychologically by bringing them spiritually closer to nature.[3]

History

Origins of ecopsychology

Sigmund Freud

In his 1929 book

environment, stating:[7][page needed
]

Our present ego-feeling is, therefore, only a shrunken residue of a much more inclusive—indeed, an all-embracing—feeling which corresponded to a more intimate bond between the ego and the world about it.

Robert Greenway

Influenced by the philosophies of noted ecologists Walles T. Edmondson and Loren Eiseley, Robert Greenway began researching and developing a concept that he described as "a marriage" between psychology and ecology in the early 1960s.[8][9] He theorized that "the mind is nature, and nature, the mind," and called its study psychoecology.[citation needed] Greenway published his first essay on the topic at Brandeis University in 1963.[8][10]

In 1969, he began teaching the subject at Sonoma State University.[10] One of Greenway's students founded a psychoecology study group at University of California, Berkeley, which was joined by Theodore Roszak in the 1990s.[8][10]

In the 1995 book Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing the Mind, Greenway wrote:[8][page needed]

Ecopsychology is a search for language to describe the human-nature relationship. It is a tool for better understanding the relationship, for diagnosing what is wrong with that relationship, and for suggesting paths to healing.

Theodore Roszak

E.O. Wilson; that humans have an instinct to emotionally connect with nature.[4][13]

Beliefs

Roszak states that an individual's connection to nature can improve their interpersonal relationships and emotional wellbeing.[citation needed] An integral part of this practice is treating patients outdoors.[4] According to ecopsychology, humans are meant to take walks in parks.[citation needed] It considers the psyche of non-humans to be relevant.[clarification needed] It examines why people continue environmentally damaging behaviour, and motivates them to adopt sustainability.[4][7][8][10]

Fundamental principles

According to Roszak, some of the principles of ecopsychology are:[14][page needed]

  • "There is a synergistic interplay between planetary and personal well-being."
  • "The core of the mind is the ecological unconscious."
  • "The goal of ecopsychology is to awaken the inherent sense of environmental reciprocity that lies within the ecological unconscious."
  • "The contents of the ecological unconscious represent ... the living record of evolution."
  • "The crucial stage of development is the life of the child."
  • "The ecological ego matures toward a sense of ethical responsibility with the planet."
  • "Whatever contributes to small scale social forms and personal empowerment nourish the ecological ego."

See also

References

  1. ISBN 978-0791453049
    .
  2. ^
    ISBN 1890482803
    .
  3. ^ a b Anderson, G. "About eco-psychology".
  4. ^ a b c d Roszack, Theodore (1 January 1996). "The nature of sanity". Psychology Today. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  5. doi:10.1080/08873267.1998.9976972
    . Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  6. JSTOR 1312526
    .
  7. ^ a b c Freud, Sigmund (1929). "Civilization And Its Discontents" (PDF). Narcissistic Abuse Rehab. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-10-12. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  8. ^ a b c d e Greenway, Robert (1995). "The Wilderness Effect and Ecopsychology" (PDF). Narcissistic Abuse Rehab. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-10-12. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  9. doi:10.1089/eco.2009.0008
    . Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  10. ^ a b c d Attfield, Nicci (February 7, 2021). "What is Ecopsychology?". Mindsplain. Archived from the original on 2021-02-07. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  11. ^ Abram, David. The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-than-Human World. Pantheon, New York, 1996.
  12. ISBN 9781461496182
    .
  13. ^ Wilson, E. O. (1995). The Biophilia Hypothesis. Island Press.
  14. ISBN 0871564068
    .

Further reading

External links

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