- "sooner or later we arrive in fields of inquiry typical of philosophy." Why-strings leads questioning to deeper questions.
- "Suppose a proposal B is based upon the same set of premises except one, an unarticulated presupposition P." In order to reach some kind of mutual understanding, questioning the proposal and perspectives one has helps. You can lead this simple approach (of questioning) in any form to get to the bottom of someone's reasoning sense.
- "comparing argumentation patters" (deep ecologists) "tend to have firm convictions at a deep level" (<
- "When questions of what to do (or not to do) in a situation are relevant, why- and how-strings sooner or later get to be irrelevant." This is from a point of view of ACTION. Action cuts the "Gordian knot" (a difficult problem solved by a serious blow), but leaves all questions open.
- Optimism/Pessimism approach
- Ex. of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. Supporters of deep say the ecological crisis is grave and many people will experience pain in transitioning to ecological sustainability. Supporters of shallow, tend to move to the optimistic side, to the point of "not even acknowledging that there is a crisis, but support vigorous action to investigate the ozone layer situation, and provide repair jobs." (what's wrong with that? is it time wasted? or are their actions resented by deep ecologists? Why don't we read the opposing discourses?)
- Shallow "believe the responsible ecological policies will be implemented in due time because of the clearly manageable magnitude of the implied problems." But Naess argues that even when negative environmental practices where growing, such as increase of pesticide use on food and plants, toxins dumped in water systems, "only a few people where alarmed... even when undesirable consequences of pesticide use became unclear, nothing decisive was done to decrease their use." SO, this is to say, it is because not enough people raise questions with persistence.
- "Those who went deeper, both questioned deeper in the sense of deeper premises, and suggested deeper changes socially (in a wide sense)."
- "there is always room for differences (in degrees of pessimism and optimism.)"
- sociologist C. Wright Mills came too early. (he really questioned and problematized
- What is the phenomena? "our language system acknowledges only the type of phenomena which support this particular system."
- "Paradoxically we must write or talk about this alternative way of thinking while using the very same language system which is at the root of the problem."
- Native societies: connected with the earth; where stable, sustainable cultures, often lasting for thousand of years; and had rich ceremonial life.
- there is a 'limited procreative energy' that flows from human to animals, society to nature", therefore its advantages to be conservative with resource exploitation.
- Seasonal festivities. topocosm- place for world order. SF set balance and revived this order.
- "acknowledge non-human co-inhabitants of your place." Acknowledging the sacred animal of your area, such as from totem poles of folk tales, and reflecting how and why they are important to the ecosystem, social system, and entire universal process. The continuity and revival of this acknowledgment bridges any separations that may have developed, while also bringing gratitude to their role and existence.
- Siena, Italy: horse races to mimic battles, end religious festivities.
- Charles Russell "...a pioneer destroys things and calls it civilization."
