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The Philosophical Foundations of Ecological Civilization: A Manifesto for the Future
Arran Gare
The global ecological crisis is the greatest challenge humanity has ever had to confront, and humanity is failing. The triumph of the neo-liberal agenda, together with a debauched ‘scientism’, has reduced nature and people to nothing but raw materials, instruments and consumers to be efficiently managed in a global market dominated by corporate managers, media moguls and technocrats. The arts and the humanities have been devalued, genuine science has been crippled, and the quest for autonomy and democracy undermined. The resultant trajectory towards global ecological destruction appears inexorable, and neither governments nor environmental movements have significantly altered this, or indeed, seem able to. The Philosophical Foundations of Ecological Civilization is a wide-ranging and scholarly analysis of this failure.
This book reframes the dynamics of the debate beyond the discourses of economics, politics and techno-science. Reviving natural philosophy to align science with the humanities, it offers the categories required to reform our modes of existence and our institutions so that we augment, rather than undermine, the life of the ecosystems of which we are part. From this philosophical foundation, the author puts forth a manifesto for transforming our culture into one which could provide an effective global environmental movement and provide the foundations for a global ecological civilization.
Ecological civilization(Wiki)
Ecological civilization is the final goal of social and environmental reform within a given society. It implies that the changes required in response to global climate disruption and social injustices are so extensive as to represent another form of human civilization, one based on ecological principles. Broadly construed, ecological civilization involves a synthesis of economic, educational, political, agricultural, and other societal reforms toward sustainability.[1]
Although the term was first coined in the 1980s, it did not see widespread use until 2007, when “ecological civilization” became an explicit goal of the Communist Party of China(CPC).[2][3] In April 2014, the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and the International Ecological Safety Collaborative Organization founded a sub-committee on ecological civilization.[4] Proponents of ecological civilization agree with Pope Francis who writes, "We are faced not with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather with one complex crisis which is both social and environmental. Strategies for a solution demand an integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and at the same time protecting nature."[5] As such, ecological civilization emphasizes the need for major environmental and social reforms that are both long-term and systemic in orientation.[1]
History
In 1984, former Soviet Union environment experts proposed the term “Ecological Culture” (экологической культуры) in an article entitled “Ways of Fostering Ecological Culture in Individuals under the Conditions of Mature Socialism" which was published in Scientific Communism, Moscow, vol. 2.[6] A summary of this article was published in the Chinese newspaper the Guangming Daily, where the notion of ecological culture was translated into Chinese as 生态文明 (shēngtài wénmíng), or ecological civilization.[7]
Two years later, the concept of ecological civilization was picked up in China, and was first used by Ye Qianji (1909–2017), an agricultural economist, in 1987.[8][9] Professor Ye defined ecological civilization by drawing from the ecological sciences and environmental philosophy.[10]
The first time the phrase “ecological civilization” was used as a technical term in an English-language book was in 1995.[11] Roy Morrison, an environmentalist, coined the phrase in his book Ecological Democracy, writing that “An ecological civilization is based on diverse lifeways sustaining linked natural and social ecologies.”[12]
The term is found more extensively in Chinese discussions beginning in 2007.[2][3] In 2012, the Communist Party of China (CPC) included the goal of achieving an ecological civilization in its constitution, and it also featured in its five-year plan.[1][13] In the Chinese context, the term generally presupposes the framework of a “constructive postmodernism,” as opposed to an extension of modernist practices or a “deconstructive postmodernism,” which stems from the deconstruction of Jacques Derrida.[1]
Both “ecological civilization” and “constructive postmodernism” have been associated with the process philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead.[1] [14]David Ray Griffin, a process philosopher and professor at Claremont School of Theology, first used the term “constructive postmodernism” in his 1989 book, Varieties of Postmodern Theology.[15]
The largest international conference held on the theme “ecological civilization” (Seizing an Alternative: Toward an Ecological Civilization) took place at Pomona College in June 2015, bringing together roughly 2,000 participants from around the world and featuring such leaders in the environmental movement as Bill McKibben, Vandana Shiva, John B. Cobb, Jr., Wes Jackson, and Sheri Liao.[16]
Since 2015, the Chinese discussion of ecological civilization is increasingly associated with an “organic” form of Marxism.[1] “Organic Marxism” was first used by Philip Clayton and Justin Heinzekehr in their 2014 book, Organic Marxism: An Alternative to Capitalism and Ecological Catastrophe.[17] The book, which was translated into Chinese and published by the People’s Press in 2015, describes ecological civilization as an orienting goal for the global ecological movement.[18]
A defence of ecological civilization as the ultimate goal of humanity, has been mounted by Arran Gare in The Philosophical Foundations of Ecological Civilization: A Manifesto for the Future, [19] which was published in 2016.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_civilization
Ecological Civilization and Holistic Human Development
13th International Forum on Ecological Civilization
2nd International Youth Forum on Ecological Civilization
As a positive vision of human flourishing, ecological civilization is about more than what we can do, it involves who we can become. It’s not merely about having more or doing more, but about being more. Being an “eco-person” speaks to the deeper motivations behind the kinds of actions we need to take in response to our complex social and environmental crisis. The development of eco-persons is connected with the qualitative measure of meaningful relationships, and not simply with quantitative measures of carbon, money, or degrees in temperature. Who we are is more than what we do. It’s this something more that lies at the intersection of the ecological civilization movement and holistic human development, and serves as the theme for the 13th International Forum on Ecological Civilization.
The forum will bring together creative academics, non-profit leaders, governmental officials, and leading activists to explore new models of holistic human development in the transition toward ecological civilization.
Possible topics include but are not limited to:
What does it mean to be human in the context of ecological civilization?
How might holistic human development advance the movement toward ecological civilization?
What changes are needed to promote human dignity for all people?
How might economic systems be restructured for the flourishing of all life?
What is the role of family and community in promoting healthy human relationships?
How might human relations to nature be reconceived for mutual well-being?
What does it mean to be an “eco-person” and how can we cultivate this quality?
Can systems of governance, law, and justice, be restructured for holistic human development? If so, what will these new systems look like and how do we begin the transition now?
How should systems of education be structured to enhance holistic human development?
Is religion and/or spirituality necessary for holistic human development?
http://ecociv.org/