Philosophy: Deep Ecology

In his chapter, “Deep ecology: A New Philosophy for our Times,” Warwick Fox draws on Arne Naess’s 1972 distinction between “shallow” and “deep” ecology.” Shallow ecology views humans as separate from their environment and as the source for all value, ascribing only instrumental value to the non-human world. On the other hand, deep ecology favors a relational, total field image, in which organisms are viewed “as knots in the biospherical net of field of intrinsic relations.” Deep ecology strives to be non-anthropocentric by seeing humans as one particular strand in the web of life. The central intuition of deep ecology is the idea that there is no firm ontological divide between the human and non-human realms. Deep ecology begins with unity, not dualism. (*Pp. 153-157 – see below for book info) (from here – my emphasis)

Relation. Unity. What more needs to be said? Of course the real work is getting these terms into the lived experience of people these days, when individualism and selfishness are so deeply entrenched in many people’s lives. “Me, me, me… He cut me off; I want that for me; It doesn’t make me happy…” Smile. Relax. Repeat until the conceit of ‘me‘ is gone.

We live for one purpose only: to serve, to live fully and vibrantly beyond the confines of concepts like me, my group, my country, my race, my species, my everything. This is to live in grace, in the beauty of every moment, to be awake. The real work: meditate, open up, open deeply, to your core.

* from: Philosophical Dialogues: Arne Naess and the Progress of Ecophilosophy (New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 1999), eds. Nina Witoszek and Andrew Brennan.