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Chapter 2

Chapter 2. ~ The Nature of Western Thought ~ Amber Gilewski Tompkins Cortland Community College. Dominant Social Paradigm (DSP) reflects : A belief in abundance and progress Support for the status quo Distrust of government Support for private property Faith in science and technology

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Chapter 2

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  1. Chapter 2 ~ The Nature of Western Thought ~ Amber GilewskiTompkins Cortland Community College

  2. Dominant Social Paradigm (DSP) reflects: • A belief in abundance and progress • Support for the status quo • Distrust of government • Support for private property • Faith in science and technology • Support for economic growth and prosperity • An assumption that humans are meant to rule over the rest of nature • A belief that the so-called ecological crisis facing humankind has been greatly exaggerated (Boomsters)

  3. New Environmental Paradigm reflects: • Opinions that ecological issues are pressing • We’re approaching the limit of people the earth can support • If things continue on their present course we will soon experience a major catastrophe (Doomsters)

  4. The intellectual roots of the DSP and psychologyis the product of centuries of Western intellectual and cultural history: • Philosophical shifts • The Scientific Revolution • The Protestant Revolution • The Industrial Revolution

  5. Humans are approaching planetary limits in carrying capacity at least in part because the modern worldview (DSP) provides a set of beliefs that encourages people to use and abuse natural resources ARE HUMAN BEINGS A “CANCER” TO THE PLANET?

  6. A few caveats: • Although human assumptions are potent, those that become popular and deeply embedded in culture are in turn shaped by institutions and cultural events • Ideas shape history, and history affects which ideas become powerful • Not all environmental problems stem from this history

  7. The Western view of nature embraces the following four assumptions about the natural world: • Nature is composed of inert, physical elements • Nature can and should be controlled • Individual human beings seekprivate economic gain • We must progress

  8. The nature of non-industrialized thought In most traditional (non-industrialized) societies, people: • Live in small groups of close-knit relationships • Derive a sustained subsistence from the land The events of the natural world therefore: • Have enormous and direct impact on their well-being • People immediately experience the rhythms and changes in weather • A key part of cultural and family life WADE DAVIS – DREAMS FROM ENDANGERED CULTURES

  9. In most preindustrial societies, nature is seen as a living organism, often like a mother: • Nurturing • Beneficent • Ordered • At times, wild, violent, and chaotic TRADITIONAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE (TEK)

  10. If the natural world is alive: • People live in kinship with it • People develop responsibility and protect it • People listen to and learn from it People can’t replace worldviews; but we can: • Tweak them • Modify them • Analyze them critically Vandana Shiva and Maude Barlow - Rights of Mother Earth

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