Embracing broader concepts of knowledge, home, and animal: An introduction to ecopsychologically oriented material and recommendations for psychological study.

摘要

During recent decades natural scientists have become increasingly more aware that many of the most serious environmental problems—e.g., climate change, loss of biodiversity, and ozone depletion—are largely anthropogenic (Stern, Young, & Druckman, 1992). Our species' behavior can thus be described as self-/other-destructive, arguably reflective of a collusive “madness” (Shepard, 1982). The fact that psychology has paid little attention to this matter is unfortunately not surprising: The field is necessarily entrenched in a sociocultural context that frequently ignores at best, or promotes at worst, less than sound relationships with the ecosphere. Indeed, to even consider that one has relationships outside the interpersonal domain appears to be quite unusual, with the somewhat growing exception of companion animals (e.g., Beck & Katcher, 1996; Cusack, 1988; Fine, 2000; Melson, 2001; Myers, 1998; Randour, 2000; Wilson & Turner, 1998).; Change, however, appears to be in the air. Though not consonant with mainstream ideology, there is evidence of “a very widespread urge for a new global ethic” (Rapoport, 1993) that stresses enhanced self-examination within the context of interconnectedness among both other persons and broader nature. The goal of this paper is to explore factors associated with this movement, especially the eco-psychological principle that the health of self/humanity cannot be divorced from the state of the Earth. Contributions from scholars from a wide array of backgrounds will be addressed, as will current international economics and U.S. federal environmental policies. The importance of responsible global citizenship is emphasized, including attention to the aforesaid themes in academia. Accordingly, a course syllabus for students of psychology is proposed.