Human Beings and Nature
Unit 1. Schools of ecological thought. Covers Modern schools of ecological thought; Deep and shallow ecology; Stewardship of land; Social ecology; Feminism and green politics; Sustainable development.
About this unit
This unit looks at how people think about nature. Different schools of ecological thought give different answers to one question: does nature matter only because it is useful to humans, or does it have value of its own? You will meet deep and shallow ecology, Wendell Berry’s idea of land stewardship, social ecology and Marxist environmentalism, ecofeminism, green political parties, and the idea of sustainable development from the Brundtland Report to the SDGs and Mission LiFE.
How to prepare
Make a table of thinkers and their key idea or book: Arne Naess, Gary Snyder, Wendell Berry, Murray Bookchin, Barry Commoner, Vandana Shiva, Gro Harlem Brundtland. Learn the Brundtland definition of sustainable development word for word. Note the key years (1972 Stockholm, 1987 Brundtland, 1992 Rio, 2015 SDGs). Practise telling apart human-centred and nature-centred views, because many questions test that one distinction.
Topics in this chapter
Modern schools of ecological thought
Overview of environmental philosophies.
5 questionsDeep and shallow ecology
Gary Snyder and Earth First; definitions and differences.
5 questionsStewardship of land
Wendell Berry’s idea of land stewardship.
5 questionsSocial ecology
Marxist environmentalism and socialist ecology (Barry Commoner).
5 questionsFeminism and green politics
Ecofeminism; green politics in Germany and England.
5 questionsSustainable development
Brundtland Commission, Sustainable Development Goals and Mission LiFE.
5 questions