Course: Arne Naess Ecophilosophy: Deep Ecology and Ecological Wisdon

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Course title Arne Naess Ecophilosophy: Deep Ecology and Ecological Wisdon
Course code KFHS/K352
Organizational form of instruction Lecture + Seminary
Level of course Master
Year of study not specified
Semester Winter
Number of ECTS credits 3
Language of instruction Czech
Status of course Compulsory-optional
Form of instruction Face-to-face
Work placements This is not an internship
Recommended optional programme components None
Course availability The course is available to visiting students
Lecturer(s)
  • Vendra Maria Cristina Clorinda, Mgr. PhD.
Course content
Part 1 (Week 1 - Week 4) - Ecosophy 1 Introduction : wandering and wondering with Arne Naess 2 Ecosophy T, clarifications of terms (Ecology, Community and Lifestyle; Ecology of Wisdom) 3 Ecology, ecophilosophy, ecosophy (Ecology, Community and Lifestyle) 4 Unity and diversity of life (Ecology, Community and Lifestyle) 5 The intrinsic value of nature (Wisdom in the Open Air) Part 2 (Week 5 - Week 10) - Deep ecology 5 Shallow, deep, long-range ecology movement (Ecology, Community and Lifestyle) 6 Nonviolence and the environment (Ecology of Wisdom) 7 Wholeness with other beings and the environment (Ecology of Wisdom) 8 Ecological self and realization (Self-Realization. An Ecological Approach to Being in the World) 9 Life as a landscape (Life's Philosophy. Reason and Feeling in a Deeper World) 10 The interaction between reason and feeling (Life's Philosophy. Reason and Feeling in a Deeper World) Part 3 (Week 11 - Week 14) - Ecological praxis 11 Ecological sustainability (Ecology of Wisdom) 12 Ecosophy and actions (Ecology of Wisdom) 13 Ecopolitical issues (Ecology, Community and Lifestyle) 14 Recapitulation and conclusion: the future of ecosophy and deep ecology

Learning activities and teaching methods
unspecified
Learning outcomes
The course will formulate answers to these questions by taking into account the uniqueness of Naess' ecosophy, his ideas about what he called 'deep ecology', and his interests in ecological praxis, that is, in the ecological sense of actions and in ecological responsibility at the individual and the collective level. The course does not pretend to offer any conclusive or exhaustive perspective on Naess' work and his approach to all complex environmental problems. Rather, through a critical analysis of Naess' more prominent writings and their related topics, the aim of this course is to provide students with the methodological skills and knowledge in order to understand the general traits of Naess' ecosophical project. In this regard, the course will clarify the terminology of Naess' ecosophy, it will focus on his deep ecology position, and it will examine the issue of environmental sustainability, the ecological orientation of actions, and the political relevance of the ecological movement. Therefore, the course will not just provide a detailed introduction to Naess' thinking, but it will apply it to the discussion of global environmental issues. The course will be divided into three parts. (1) The first part will explain the terminology and the principles of Naess' ecosophy T, with the T for the mountain Tvergastein. Ecosophy is a combination between the term ecology, from the Greek word Oikos meaning home or dwelling place, and the Greek word Sophos meaning wisdom. The letter T referred to Tvergastein means for Naess that his ecosophy is just a formulation among many others. (2) The second part will discuss Naess' term "deep ecology" as distinguished from swallow ecology. Deep ecology is committed to egalitarianism in the biosphere, that is, it promotes the equal right to live and flourish to all organisms considered as knots in the web of life. Moreover, deep ecology supports the maintenance of diversity and complexity in all natural systems. (3) The third part will discuss the issue of environmental sustainability, the distinction between moral and beautiful acts in the ecological context, and the eco-political and sociological arguments considered by Naess as favoring ecological protection.
Communication, dialogical skills, ability to read and discuss in English, adaptability to different methodologies and perspectives
Prerequisites
none

Assessment methods and criteria
unspecified
Evaluations of students in this course will be based on: (1) participation, which includes active discussionin class, attendance (80%), class assignments. In case of absence, the student gas to communicate it and to ask the professor for any assignments or key discussions concerning the missed lesson. (2) An in-class presentation (15 minutes) and a final paper (max. 8 pages). Additional information will be provided at the beginning of the course. Bibliography Mandatory --- Selected pages, chapters, of the following books: 1) Paul Ricoeur, Freedom and Nature. The Voluntary and the Involuntary [1950], translated by Erazim Kohák (Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1966). [General Introduction: Question of Method] 2) Paul Ricoeur, Fallible Man [1960], translated by Charles Kelbley (Chicago: Henry Regnery, 1965). [The Concept of Fallibility; Limitation and Fallibility; Fallibility and the Possibility of Fault] 3) Paul Ricoeur, The Symbolism of Evil [1960], translated by Everson Buchanan (Boston: Beacon Press, 1967). [The Symbol Gives Rise to Thought] 4) Paul Ricoeur, The Conflict of Interpretations. Essays in Hermeneutics [1969], translated by Don Ihde, (Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1974). [Existence and Hermeneutics] 5) Paul Ricoeur, From Text to Action. Essays in Hermeneutics II [1986], translated by Kathleen Blamey and John Thompson (London: The Athlone Press, 1991). [For a Hermeneutical Phenomenology; From the Hermeneutics of Texts to the Hermeneutics of Action] 6) Paul Ricoeur, Time and Narrative Vol. I., translated by Kathleen McLaughlin and David Pellauer (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1984). [Time and Narrative: Threefold Mimesis] 7) Paul Ricoeur, Oneself as Another [1990], translated by Kathleen Blamey (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992). [Fifth Study; Sixth Study; Seventh Study; Eight Study; Ninth Study] 8) David Pellauer, Ricoeur: A Guide for the Perplexed (London: Continuum, 2007). 9) Charles Reagan, Paul Ric?ur: His Life and His Work (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996). Recommended 1) Roger Savage, Paul Ricoeur's Philosophical Anthropology as Hermeneutics of Liberation: Freedom, Justice, and the Power of Imagination (New York: Routledge, 2021). 2) Geoffrey Dierckxsens, Paul Ric?ur's Moral Anthropology: Singularity, Responsibility, and Justice (Lanham: Lexington Books, 2018). 3) Brian Treanor, Henry Isaac Venema, A Passion for the Possible: Thinking with Paul Ric?ur (New York: Fordham University Press, 2010). 4) Timo Helenius, Ricoeur, Culture, and Recognition: A Hermeneutic of Cultural Subjectivity (Lanham: Lexington Books, 2016).
Recommended literature
  • Alan Drengson, Yuichi Inoue (eds.). The Deep Ecology Movement. An Introductory Anthology. 1995.
  • Arne Naess. Ecology, Community and Lifestyle: Outline of an Ecosophy. 1989.
  • Arne Naess. Ecology of Wisdom. 2008.
  • Arne Naess. Life's Philosophy. Reason and Feeling in a Deeper World. 2002.
  • NAESS, A. Ekologie, pospolitost a životní styl.Praha Abies, 1993.ISBN 80-88699-09-6. Praha: Abies, 1993. ISBN 80-88699-09-6.
  • Nina Witoszek, Andrew Brennan (eds.). Arne Naess and the Progress of Ecophilosophy. 1999.


Study plans that include the course
Faculty Study plan (Version) Category of Branch/Specialization Recommended year of study Recommended semester