Ecosophy
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Ecosophy, also ecophilosophy, is a neologism made by contracting the phrase ecological philosophy. It refers to philosophies which have a predominant ecocentric or biocentric perspective such as ecofeminism, social ecology, and deep ecology.
Félix Guattari
Ecosophy also refers to a new field proposed by psychoanalyst and militant Félix Guattari in 1992 as a response to perceived shortcomings in the science of ecology.
Guattari holds that ecology generally obscures the complexity of the relationship between humans and their environment; he envisions ecosophy as a new field with a more holistic approach to such study. In this conception, he considers ecosophy as a science of ecosystems, of which he claims there are mental ecosystems, environmental ecosystems, and social ecosystems; that is, human subjectivity, the environment, and social relations, all of which are intimately interconnected. Guattari writes:
- "Without modifications to the social and material environment, there can be no change in mentalities. Here, we are in the presence of a circle that leads me to postulate the necessity of founding an "ecosophy" that would link environmental ecology to social ecology and to mental ecology." (Guattari)
References
- Guattari, Félix (2000) The Three Ecologies. Trans. Ian Pindar & Paul Sutton, London & New Brunwick, NJ: The Athlone Press.