From moral ecology to diverse ontologies: relational values in human ecological research, past and present

Saxena, Alark; Chatti, Deepti; Overstreet, Katy; Dove, Michael R.

doi:10.1016/j.cosust.2018.10.021

Cited by 43 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Netherwood et al 2006;Williams 2013;Lange 2018;O'Neil 2018;Mcphie and Clarke 2019;Taylor and Pacini-Ketchabaw 2019); environmental values (e.g. Jax et al 2018;Pascual et al 2018;Saxena et al 2018); posthuman sustainability (e.g. Cielemęcka and Daigle 2019;Fox and Alldred 2019;Smith 2019); and quantum theory in sustainability (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards a relational paradigm in sustainability research, practice, and education

Walsh

Böhme

Wamsler

2020

Ambio

122

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Relational thinking has recently gained increasing prominence across academic disciplines in an attempt to understand complex phenomena in terms of constitutive processes and relations. Interdisciplinary fields of study, such as science and technology studies (STS), the environmental humanities, and the posthumanities, for example, have started to reformulate academic understanding of nature-cultures based on relational thinking. Although the sustainability crisis serves as a contemporary backdrop and in fact calls for such innovative forms of interdisciplinary scholarship, the field of sustainability research has not yet tapped into the rich possibilities offered by relational thinking. Against this background, the purpose of this paper is to identify relational approaches to ontology, epistemology, and ethics which are relevant to sustainability research. More specifically, we analyze how relational approaches have been understood and conceptualized across a broad range of disciplines and contexts relevant to sustainability to identify and harness connections and contributions for future sustainability-related work. Our results highlight common themes and patterns across relational approaches, helping to identify and characterize a relational paradigm within sustainability research. On this basis, we conclude with a call to action for sustainability researchers to codevelop a research agenda for advancing this relational paradigm within sustainability research, practice, and education.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards a relational paradigm in sustainability research, practice, and education

Walsh

Böhme

Wamsler

2020

Ambio

122

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“…Generally, worldviews based on indigenous experience have more completely internalized the idea that humans are living organisms among many others and that we depend on natural processes for our own survival (Saxena et al. ). These worldviews have helped many indigenous and local people to sustainably manage their environment for decades or centuries (Johnson et al.…”

Section: Seeing the Biosocial Complex Differentlymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In many indigenous cultures, human societies and the environment are perceived not as separate, but rather as involved in a social relationship (Berkes 2012) that embraces both spiritual and symbolic values (Caillon et al 2017). Generally, worldviews based on indigenous experience have more completely internalized the idea that humans are living organisms among many others and that we depend on natural processes for our own survival (Saxena et al 2018). These worldviews have helped many indigenous and local people to sustainably manage their environment for decades or centuries (Johnson et al 2016).…”

Section: Seeing the Biosocial Complex Differentlymentioning

confidence: 99%

Embracing diverse worldviews to share planet Earth

Kohler

Holland

Kotiaho

et al. 2019

Conservation Biology

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Leading societies toward a more sustainable, equitably shared, and environmentally just future requires elevating and strengthening conversations on the nonmaterial and perhaps unquantifiable values of nonhuman nature to humanity. Debates among conservationists relating to the appropriateness of valuing ecosystems in terms of their human utility have eclipsed the more important and impactful task of expressing conservation concerns in terms that are meaningful to diverse stakeholders. We considered the wide global diversity of perspectives on the biosocial complex—the relationships and interactions between all living species on Earth—and argue that humanity's best chance for effective conservation is to take a pluralistic approach that engages seriously with the worldviews of all stakeholders. Many worldviews—particularly those in indigenous cultures—place a higher value on the spiritual and nonmaterial aspects than what is often represented by the discourse surrounding Western conservation policy. Alternative framings of the biosocial complex that recognize nature's intrinsic value can be powerful motivators for social change and for local‐scale conservation efforts. At a national and international level, changing ethical framings of human relationships with nature have started influencing conceptions of human rights relating to the environment and of the rights of nature itself. This change has led to an increased role of the judiciary in promoting environmental sustainability and promoting justice for groups who are most often affected by environmental harms. We hope our essay will motivate the scientific community to change its own perception of what a sound and sustainable relationship between humanity and other species should be and will help citizens become active environmental subjects, connected to the ecosystems around them.

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“…I propose to take moral ecology well beyond its current use in the context of peasant, indigenous, and activist resistance (Dove and Kammen ; Martínez‐Reyes ; Baker et al ), or deployed interchangeably with the concept of moral economy (Rizvi ; Campbell ). This intervention also invites anthropologists of science, environment, and infrastructure to take a more central role in long‐standing debates over moral and ethical world‐making (Mattingly and Throop ), as well as in inquiries into environmental ethics (Hoefle ; Saxena et al )…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Environmental ethicists interrogate and classify in universalistic terms the premises of people's worldviews and beliefs leading to specific assessments of justice or actions, particularly in the context of intractable environmental quandaries (e.g., Boylan ). Anthropologists have challenged their universal premises and added ontological nuances to abstract categories and relational approaches in environmental ethics (e.g., Jax et al ) and are inviting new conversations with environmental anthropologists (Saxena et al ).…”

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confidence: 99%

The Delta is Dead: Moral Ecologies of Infrastructure in Turkey

Scaramelli

2019

Cult. Anthropol.

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In a Turkish delta, fishers, scientists, and residents articulate contrasting moral ecologies of infrastructure. Contesting the infrastructural remaking of delta environments, fishermen connect ecological change to the concerns of working-class livelihoods; scientists assert a unique moral authority to create new habitats for selected species; and activists couch claims of ecological justice within existing legal spaces, all against the backdrop of increasing authoritarianism and economic crisis. This article extends insights from anthropological discussions of moral economy into political ecology to advance a new theoretical understanding of environmental infrastructure. I offer the notion of a moral ecology of infrastructure, theorizing infrastructure and ecology as inseparable, rather than set in opposition. In my use of the term, moral ecologies are assessments of justice and motivations for action that concern relations between humans and nonhumans. These assessments are not necessarily couched as resistance, but also encompass hegemonic and capitalist projects. This analytic proves helpful for understanding how, and why, people confront and respond to environmental transformations in an infrastructural world. At stake in these claims are moral notions of human and nonhuman livelihoods, notions that include those of water flows, birds, fish, sandbars, trees, and others. Özet Bir Türkiye deltasında balıkçılar, bilim insanları ve deltanın sakinleri, altyapının birbirine zıt ahlaki ekolojilerini ifade ederler. Her bir grubun delta ortamlarının yeniden altyapılandırılmasına karşı çıkış nedeni farklıdır: balıkçılar ekolojik değişimi işçi sınıfının geçim kaygılarıyla ilişkilendirir; bilim insanları seçili ender türlere yeni habitatlar oluşturmak için kendilerine özgü ahlaki bir otorite ortaya koyarlar; ve çevreciler artan otoriter rejim ve ekonomik krizler kıskacında, mevcut yasal alanlarda ekolojik adalet iddialarını dile getirirler. Bu makale, çevre altyapısına dair teorik yeni bir anlayış geliştirmek için ahlaki ekonomi ile ilgili antropolojik tartışmaları politik ekolojiyle ilişkilendirmektedir. Ahlaki altyapı ekolojisi kavramını önererek, altyapıyı ve ekolojiyi birbirine zıt olmaktan ziyade birbirinden ayrılmaz kavramlar olarak görüyorum. Ahlaki ekolojilerden kastım, insanlar ve insan olmayanlar arasındaki ilişkilere dair gelişen adalet anlayışı ve eylem motivasyonlarıdır. Ahlaki ekoloji mutlaka direnç demek değildir; aynı zamanda hegemonik ve kapitalist projeleri de kapsamaktadır. Bu yaklaşımla, insanların altyapı dünyasındaki çevresel dönüşümlerle nasıl ve niçin karşı karşıya kaldıklarını ve bu dönüşümlere nasıl tepki verdiklerini anlayacağımızı iddia ediyorum. Bu iddialarda dile gelen, insani ve insan dışı geçim kaynaklarına dair olan ahlak kavramlarıdır; suların akışını, kuşları, balıkları, kıyı kordonlarını, ağaçları ve diğerlerini içeren kavramlar.

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From moral ecology to diverse ontologies: relational values in human ecological research, past and present

Cited by 43 publications

References 27 publications

Towards a relational paradigm in sustainability research, practice, and education

Towards a relational paradigm in sustainability research, practice, and education

Embracing diverse worldviews to share planet Earth

The Delta is Dead: Moral Ecologies of Infrastructure in Turkey

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