“Every Change Must Have a Cause”1: Some Ecological Incidents, Ecologically Responsible Behaviors, and Their Cognitive and Affective Roots

Abstract

It has been very normal to see environmental activists who glued themselves to paintings and cars on TV recently. The activists may think that they can change people’s perspectives by these protests. Who are these protesters to tell others what to do? What is their approach? Do they really show ecologically responsible behaviors? Carl Gustav Jung emphasizes that people should first turn to their inner worlds (Self) to be able to understand the outer world. This means we need personal inner change before telling people to change themselves. Christian mythology says “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19), this means “We created from soil and dust (birth) and we will return to soil and dust (death)”. It is thought that we are already a reflection of ecology therefore a priori knowledge is the root of ecological intelligence and holistic perspective in our minds and hearts. The aim of this paper is to present some examples of how we should look at the outer world while evaluating ecological incidents around us and our inner world. These examples are very simple responsibilities and show the components of the ecological intelligence in our minds.