Characteristics of Eco-Philosophy

Characteristics of Eco-
Philosophy
1. Life oriented
in contrast to language-oriented philosophies.
It is argued that language-rooted philosophy
enlarges the scope of our knowledge of both
language and the world, and thereby assures
enlightenment and provides better tools for
living. It is really an article of faith, not a logical
conclusion.
Life oriented
By acting upon this allegedly superior
knowledge provided by science and
scientifically orientated philosophy, we arrive at
major ecological, social and individual
pathologies.
2. commitment
commitment to human values, to nature, to life
itself, whereas academic philosophy spells out a
commitment to objectivity, to detachment, to
facts. All forms of life are committed. Life, as an
ontological phenomenon, does not recognize
objectivity and detachment.
Commitment
Objectivity is a figment of our minds; it does
not exist in nature. It can be argued that
objectivity is a mode of assessment. If so, it is
not rooted in firm physical reality, but is only a
disposition of the human mind.
3. Spirituality
A state of mind, a state of being.
The world is experienced as if it
were evolved with grace.
The first act of awe when a human
was struck with the beauty or
wonder of nature was the first
spiritual experience. Traditional
religions embody this form of
experience.
Spirituality
All great art is an expression of
human spirituality.
Reverence, compassion, love,
adoration represent different
forms of spirituality.
Spirituality is versatile
sensitivity.
4. Comprehensiveness
Not in the sense of ability to explain everything,
but no other choice but to look at the world in a
comprehensive, connected and global way.
Ecology has a much broader frame of reference
than that of physics and chemistry.
Cosmic scale is harder to grasp.
5. The pursuit of wisdom
 In contrast to acquisition of information.

 Wisdom consists in the exercise of judgment,
based on qualitative criteria, usually in

conflicting situation.
 Quality-ridden society, quality-ridden
education – discourage from exercising
judgment, prompts to make decisions on the
basis of facts.
5. The pursuit of wisdom
 'Facts are not judgemental; facts do not

judge', we are told. But there is a huge fallacy
in this proposition, for in a subtle way facts
do judge; facts are judgemental. To obey
facts is to obey the theory and the world-view
which those facts serve and which they
exemplify and articulate.
Pursuit of wisdom
 'Wisdom demands a new orientation of
science and technology towards the organic,
the gentle, the non-violent, the elegant and
beautiful.' (E. F. Schumacher)
Pursuit of wisdom
wisdom must be related to our understanding
of the awesome and fragile fabric of life. For
this reason alone it must entail compassion,
which is one of the attributes of our knowledge
of the world.
It is a crippled school in which compassion and
judgement are not developed. It is a crippled
society in which judgement and compassion are
neglected, for they are essential to acquiring
some rudiments of wisdom
6. Environmental and ecological consciousness
 eco-philosophy is not simply caring about

our natural resources.
 It takes judicious stock of existing resources.
 It advocates stringent measures to make
them last longer.

 it entails reverence for nature and a

realization that we are an extension of nature
and nature an extension of us. Human values
must be seen as part of a larger spectrum in
which nature participates and which nature
co-defines.
 Skolimowsky criticizes the philosophers
silence on the subject. He says that their

silence indicates they participate in the
conspiracy of indifference.
 He also criticizes the view that everything is a

matter for specialists and that, therefore,
questions concerning the environment and
ecology are to be left to the specialists, to
economists, politicians, engineers and so on.
7. Economics of the quality of life
In contrast to the economics of material growth.
 Progress is defined as the progress of
material growth.
 Empiricism, material progress, economics of
growth are detrimental to the development of

ecological concern.
 Empiricism explains the world as being made
of empirical stuff,
 material progress postulates that human
fulfilment has to do with material gratification,
 economics of growth is the vehicle which
secures the goods desired by material progress.
 There is no justification for the economics of
growth in itself. Its only justification could be: it
fulfills the requirements of material progress.
Thus empiricism is the root, material progress
the trunk and branches, and the economics of
growth the fruit.
7. Economics of the quality of life
 Eco-philosophy believes that an economics
which undermines the quality of life is in
conflict with life itself. Hazel Henderson, E.J.
Mishan, E. F. Schumacher and others have
shown the meaninglessness of an economics
geared to material growth alone.
8. Political awarenss
 Eco-philosophy is politically aware. This political
commitment is not in a superficial way. It is
political in the Aristotelian sense: we are political
animals not because we crave power, but because
our actions are pregnant with political
consequences.
 For example, the production of garbage is
ultimately a political act through which we,
indirectly, affect the lives of others. The equation
is simple: the more garbage we produce, the
more adversely we affect other people who are at
the supplying end.
9. Social responsibility
 The social contract by which we are bound is
cooperative by its very nature. It is only an
acknowledgement of our belonging to the
larger scheme of things called the cosmos. It
is quite clear that a compassionate, symbiotic
and cooperative conception of the cosmos
implies a cooperative conception of society,
because society is one of the cells of the
cosmos in its evolution (Skolimowsky)
10. Individual responsibility
 It insists that in addition to the rights we
crave, we are also bound by duties and
obligations. The point has been made by
Solzhenitsyn: 'The defence of individual rights
has reached such extremes as to make
society as a whole defenceless against certain
individuals.
Individual responsibility
 Eco-philosophy suggests and insists that we
are responsible for everything. We are the
new Prometheans who have the courage to
light the fire of our imagination de novo. But
we are also aware of the enormous
responsibility that the carrying of the flaming
torch entails.
11. Tolerance of the transphysical
 Eco-philosophy is tolerant of transphysical

phenomena.
 We live all the time in a multitude of webs
signifying different orders of being and

spelling out the complexity of our
relationships with the world. In this
multitude, the physical web is just one.

 This particular web has become the focus of
our attention and the object of intense
investigation. We have become so obsessed
with it that we have nearly lost sight of all the
other webs, although those other webs are
always present.
 Eco-philosophy terminates this monopoly.
 it calls for a pluralistic epistemology designed
to investigate orders of being and orders of
knowledge which are both physical and
transphysical. To transcend physics and go
beyond its universe is the kernel of all
philosophy,
 Our problem, at present, is epistemological,
because there is a peculiar monopoly in
epistemology which we have to break in order
to be able to talk about other orders of being.
 Eco-philosophy signals the beginning of a
new epistemology: pluralistic, life-rooted,

cosmos-orientated in contradistinction to the
present one which is matter-rooted and
mechanism orientated.
12. Health consciousness
 We are not machines to be mended when one

part is broken or worn out; we are complex
fields of forces. Only when we assume that
humans and the environment are made of
fields of interacting forces do we begin to
understand what a fascinating story the
maintenance of human health is.
Health consciousness
 Then we will understand how miraculous it is
when things are in order, and we are in a
state of positive health. To keep this field of
forces in constant equilibrium means being in
touch with the variety of transphysical forces
which contribute to that equilibrium. To be in
a state of positive health is to be on good
terms with the cosmos.
A comparison
 1. life oriented  1. langaue-oriented
 2. commited  2. objective
 3. spiritually alive
 3. spiritually dead
 4.comprehensive
 4.piecemeal
 5. pursuing
 5. pursuing wisdom
information
 6. enviromentally and  6. enviromentally and
ecologically conscious ecologically oblivious
Comparion
 7. quality of life  7. material progress
 8. politically aware  8. politically indifferent
 9. socially concenred
 9. socially unconcern
 10. individual
 10. mute about indi
responsibilty resp
 11. intolent to
 11. trasphysical
transphysical phen
phenomenal  12. mindless of health
 12. mindful of health

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Characteristics of Eco-

 In contrast to acquisition of information.

based on qualitative criteria, usually in

 'Facts are not judgemental; facts do not

 eco-philosophy is not simply caring about

them last longer.

 it entails reverence for nature and a

silence on the subject. He says that their

 He also criticizes the view that everything is a

growth are detrimental to the development of

 Eco-philosophy is tolerant of transphysical

signifying different orders of being and

new epistemology: pluralistic, life-rooted,

 We are not machines to be mended when one

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