Towards an Ecological Consciousness

Abstract

E. F. Schumacher, the author of Small Is Beautifit said, "We are at
war with Nature and if by chance we win the war, we shall be the loser."
This paradox of modem humanity is not universally accepted. However,
there is hardly any visible sign of a deceleration in humanity's unilateral
war against the environment. Consequently, humanity is drawing closer
and nearer to an imminent debacle.
Although "the voices of peace" for solving the crisis could be heard
as early as the late 194Os, their mediation has come to be regarded as
valuable only recently. As a result, the global environmental movement
has started shaping the course of developmental strategies. But, unfortunately,
the growing concern over environmental devastation is still superficial
and not viewed holistically. The ongoing concerns are limited to the
extent of the exploitation of natural murces and the sustainability of the
developmental processes. However, a few voices that consider the predicament
from a holistic viewpoint and in a perspective of "deep ecology"
are certainly audible in the global debate. The proponents of the holistic
approach feel that humanity's present awareness of the environmental crisis
is not sufficient. What is needed, according to them, is a dispassionate
ecological consciousness emanating from the synthesis of the complete
experience of humanity since the dawn of civilization and also taking into
consideration all facets of the ultimate reality.
The New Ecological Realism
For quite some time, a relational perspective has been stressed in discussions
about understanding and solving the ecological crisis. According
to this viewpoint, "nature is a web of relations" and therefore "denial of
relationality is denial of being" (Skolimowski 1991). Furthermore, it expands
the frontiers of the relationality of the human community to the
greater relationality of all biotic and abiotic members of the biosphere and
beyond. A concept of "the cosmic family" has been envisaged by advocates
of this vision, and humanity is expected to mold its behavior patterns
so that human beings can fulfill their obligations towards the vast
family and honor all relations while deriving benefits from the ~esource
pool of their cultural and physical environments.
In its wake, a movement for deep ecology has been proposed. The
term "deep ecology" signifies the encouragement of a more profound ...