Teachings
Integral ecology integrates over 80 schools of ecology and 70 schools of environmental thought. It integrates these approaches by recognizing that environmental phenomena are the result of an observer using a particular method of observation to observe some aspect of nature. This postmetaphysical formula is summarized as Who (the observer) x How (method of observation) x What (that which is observed). Integral ecology uses a framework of eight ecological worldviews (e.g.,eco-manager, eco-holist, eco-radical, eco-sage), eight ecological modes of research (e.g., phenomenology, ethnomethodology, empiricism, systems theory), and four terrains (i.e., experience, behaviors, cultures, and systems). See table below for an overview of a few of the schools of ecology that integral ecology weaves together:
| Terrain of Experiences | Terrain of Cultures | Terrain of Behaviors | Terrain of Systems |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feminist Ecology | Ethno-Ecology | Chemical Ecology | Paleo-Ecology |
| Psychoanalytic Ecology | Linguistic Ecology | Cognitive Ecology | Historical Ecology |
| Deep Ecology | Process Ecology | Behavioral Ecology | Political Ecology |
| Ecopsychology | Information Ecology | Mathematical Ecology | Industrial Ecology |
| Romantic Ecology | Spiritual Ecology | Acoustic Ecology | Social Ecology |
Integral ecology is defined as the mixed methods study of the subjective and objective aspects of organisms in relationship to their intersubjective and interobjective environments. As a result integral ecology doesn’t require a new definition of ecology as much as it provides an integral interpretation of the standard definition of ecology, where organisms and their environments are recognized as having interiority. Integral ecology also examines developmental stages in both nature and humankind, including how nature shows up to people operating from differing worldviews.
Key integrative figures drawn on in integral ecology include: Thomas Berry, Edgar Morin, Aldo Leopold, and Stan Salthe.
Read more about this topic: Integral Ecology
Famous quotes containing the word teachings:
“We denote this primary wisdom as Intuition, whilst all later teachings are tuitions.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“... there are no chains so galling as the chains of ignorance—no fetters so binding as those that bind the soul, and exclude it from the vast field of useful and scientific knowledge. O, had I received the advantages of early education, my ideas would, ere now, have expanded far and wide; but, alas! I possess nothing but moral capability—no teachings but the teachings of the Holy Spirit.”
—Maria Stewart (1803–1879)