Environmental science and environmental philosophy: part 2 environmental science and the coming social Paradigm

Abstract

Several futurologist and environmentalist writers1–3 have called for a fundamental shift in Western philosophical thought, an end to the present reductionist paradigm, and the development of a new holistic, environmentally‐conscious society. It is said that this process will involve the redefinition of many social concepts, including those of Growth, Wealth, Work and Power. There is a relationship between the philosophical basis of this call for a shift to a new social paradigm, and that of modern environmentalism, especially in its more radical manifestations. Ideas which contribute to the radical environmentalist critique of present society are in turn related to the anthropology of tribal societies, to the writings of 19th century radicals and revolutionaries, to the cosmologies of pre‐capitalist and pre‐scientific cultures, and to the emerging interest in environmental matters on the part of (eco)feminists. A synthesis of these ideas with some existing scientific concepts, provides the basis for the development of a new (Environmental) science which is no longer tethered to the present reductionist paradigm.