Chapter 2~ The Nature of Western Thought ~

Amber GilewskiTompkins 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• 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)

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)

The intellectual roots of the DSP and psychology is the product of centuries of Western intellectual and cultural history:

• Philosophical shifts• The Scientific Revolution• The Protestant Revolution • The Industrial Revolution

• 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?

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

The Western view of nature embraces the following four assumptions about the natural world:

1. Nature is composed of inert, physical elements

2. Nature can and should be controlled 3. Individual human beings seek private

economic gain 4. We must progress

The nature of non-industrialized thoughtIn 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

In most preindustrial societies, nature is seen as a living organism, often like a mother:

• Nurturing• Beneficent• Ordered • At times, wild, violent, and chaoticTRADITIONAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE (TEK)

If the natural world is alive:• People live in kinship with it• People develop responsibility and protect it• People listen to and learn from itPeople can’t replace worldviews; but we can:• Tweak them• Modify them• Analyze them critically

Vandana Shiva and Maude Barlow - Rights of Mother Earth