Anthropocentric and Ecocentric Models

 There are two different concepts on the environment:

 Anthropocentric – humans are superior and central to the universe

 Ecocentric – the ecological or relational integrity of humans provide the meaning of

morals and values

Notice Disorder in the Universe

 The domination of man over nature is based in the anthropocentric model

 Exploitative utilization of the environment results in ecological crisis
 Justifiable in order to satisfy human interests

 The ecocentric model puts the ecosystem first and assumes that the natural world has intrinsic
value
 Nature is not only valued for the future survival of the human species but also invaluable
in itself
 Man has a responsibility towards the land

Notice Things that are not in Their Proper Place and Organize Them in an Aesthetic Way

 The Milesians, (Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes) early Greek philosophers from the town
of Miletus, regarded Nature as without boundaries or infinite

 Pythagoras (570 BC – 495 BC), Greek philosopher and mathematician of the Pythagorean
theorem fame, described the universe as living embodiment of nature’s order, harmony, and beauty
 Pythagoras sees our relationship with the universe involving biophilia (love of other living
things) and cosmophilia (love of other living beings)
 The Chinese cosmic conception is based on the assumption that all that happens in the universe
is a continuous whole, like a chain of natural consequences
 All events in the universe follow a transitional process due to the primeval pair, the yin
and the yang
 The universe does not proceed onward but revolves without beginning or end
 There is nothing new under the sun, “new” is a repetition of the old
 Human happiness lies in conformity with nature or tao, the wise conforms with tao and is
happy

 For Herbert Marcuse (1898-1979), German-American philosopher, sociologist, and political

theorist, humanity has dominated nature
 There can only be change if we will change our attitude towards our perception of the
environment
 For George Herbert Meade (1863-1931), American philosopher, sociologist and psychologist, we
do not only have rights but also duties
 We are not only citizens of the community but how we react to this community and in our
reaction we change the community

Show that Care for the Environment Contributes to Health, Well-Being, and Sustainable
Development

 Aside from the ecocentric model, there are also other theories to show care for the environment:

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  Deep ecology
 Social ecology
 Ecofeminism

 Deep ecology
 For this theory, the ecological crisis is an outcome of anthropocentrism
 Deep ecologists encourage humanity to shift away from anthropocentrism towards
ecocentrism

 Social ecology
 For this theory, the ecological crisis results from authoritarian social structures
 People overpower others and exploit the environment for their own profit and self-interest
 Social ecologists call for small-scale societies which recognize that humanity is linked to
the well-being of the natural world on which human life depends

 Ecofeminism
 This theory argues that the ecological crisis is a consequence of male dominance
 Male traits as in the anthropocentric model are superior to female traits as in the
ecocentric model
 Domination is where the “superior” forces the “inferior” to conform to its demands
 For ecofeminists, freeing nature and humanity means removing the superior vs. inferior
struggle in human relations
Demonstrate the Virtues of Prudence and Frugality Toward the Environment

 Erich Fromm (1900-1980), German social psychologist, psychoanalyst, sociologist, and

humanistic philosopher, proposed a new society that should encourage the emergence of a new
human being who will foster prudence and moderation or frugality toward the environment
 The functions of Fromm’s envisioned society:
 The willingness to give up all forms of having in order to fully be
 Being fully present where one is
 Trying to reduce greed, hate, and illusions as much one is capable
 Making the full growth of oneself and one’s fellow beings as the supreme goal of living
 Not deceiving others but also not being deceived by others, one may be called innocent
but not naïve
 Freedom that is not arbitrary but the possibility to be oneself, not as a bundle of greedy
desires but as a delicately balanced structure that at any moment is confronted with growth or
decay, life or death
 Happiness in the process of ever-growing aliveness, whatever the furthest point is that
fate permits one to reach, for living as fully as one can is so satisfactory that the concern for what
one might or might not attain has little chance to develop
 Joy that comes from giving and sharing, not from hoarding and exploiting
 Developing one’s capacity for love, together with one’s capacity for critical unsentimental
thought
 Shedding one’s narcissism and accepting that tragic limitations inherent in human
existence

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