OEEDU5001 Concepts in Outdoor Education

Week sixEnvironmentally toxic belief systems

OEE could help us look back at our society from a different

perspective (removed from society - allows for reflection)

Signposts to a western worldview?

The ecological crisis is fundamentally caused by

“environmentally toxic belief systems”

Toxic = belief that does not support or affirm life

Many authors contributed…

Summarise 5 cultural beliefs and 4 corollaries (associated beliefs)

Toxic belief #1

The belief in progress

The belief in the ideal of progress.That progress is inevitable, unidirectional, and upward.

Therefore progress will lead to social improvement

Toxic belief #1 - The belief in progress

Described as the main obstacle to re-creating human communities

that are truly sustainable.

But what is Progress?

Progress ought mean getting nearer to the place you want to be…

Where or what is that? In terms of community, environment and your role/relationship with both?

Toxic belief #1 - The belief in progress

Cultural myths

Progress and development = increased control and complex technology.

Success = accumulation of wealth and possessions.

The health of a society = its rate of economic growth.

Freedom = the ability to choose in the marketplace.

Toxic belief #1 - The belief in progress

Toxic belief #2

The importance of the individual

The ideology of individualismEmphasis on self-realisation at the expense of the community (OE??)

Everyone can succeed if they try hard enough. (Cultural myth #2)

Therefore undermines any sense of an interdependent biotic community

Toxic belief #2 - The importance of the individual

Toxic belief #3

Anthropocentrism

Views the world from the perspective of human interests

‘the Environment’ = not us!

Therefore possible to separate humans from the environmentDescartes dualism – (16th C) a mechanistic model of nature yielded context free, value free knowledge of the external world. The human species is different from everything else on earth… the only being processing a mind.

Toxic belief #3 - Anthropocentrism

Toxic belief #4

Faith in rationalism

The idea that reason, deductive intellectual processes, are the basis of

all truth... Intuition?

The belief that if we have all the facts we will make good decisions and problems

will be solved

Toxic belief #4 - Faith in rationalism

Therefore views nature as a resource for our use, and Science will solve

our problems.

But, most ecological challenges are, at least in part, value/moral issues.

Toxic belief #4 - Faith in rationalism

Toxic belief #5

The devaluing of tacit knowledge

Western society focuses on objective, scientific ways of knowing.

But we know that tacit ways of knowing are a major avenue for building relationships.

The same is true of relationships with nature.

Toxic belief #5 - The devaluing of tacit knowledge

Corollary = Devaluing of caring

• Feminine traits are devalued in general (e.g., feelings, intuitive thinking)

• Therefore we resolve enviro conflicts on the principle of justice (logic and rationality) rather than caring (emotion and intuition).

Corollary = Devaluing of the spiritual or sacred

• Mainstream culture struggles with spiritual or sacred knowing – especially of nature

• Indigenous cultures are quite opposite

• Sacredness of nature is problematic?

Corollary = Lack of relationship with non-human nature

• Rare for people to have relationships with nature today. (outdoor rec? Gardening?)

• Lack of positive experiences in natural, non-urbanised environment. (80% of Aust live in cities over 100,000 in population.)

• leaves less opportunity for caring for environment?

• Scandinavian early schooling

Corollary = Sense of inertia and powerlessness

• Our education systems are passive (and reproductive of the dominant social order? See ideology of education)

• Critical thinking for environmentalism is not taught in mainstream education.

• People feel powerless to make a difference (problem of scale)

• Bioregionalism.

How does outdoor education practice support or

clash/challenge the dominant social paradigm?

Practices that support

Practices that challenge

What do we take for granted as good to include in OE trips that may work against the understanding that we are seeking in students?

What are some of the things that people look at and think you’re silly doing?

Dominant paradigm?

Practices that support

Practices that challenge

• Consumption of high tech gear…and as a way to resolve human nature risks

• Development of the individual – self actualisation.

• Promotion of leadership over membership

• Dominance of nature’s challenges

• Language? “worthless rock, poor snow etc”

• Risk for no immediate gain• Rejection of comfort?• Selecting technology?• Promotion of group

outcomes/community values• Valuing of non-human

species• Looking back?• Cyclical time valued?• Alternate ways of knowing?

Affective valued

References

• Brookes, A. (1994). Reading between the lines: Outdoor experience as environmental “text.” Leisure Today (Journal or Physical Education, Recreation and Dance), v.65(8), 28-33,39.

• Chenery, M. (1994, July). Looking back from the Bush: A view of eco-ethical thinking from the perspective of Australian outdoor education. Paper presented at ART-Seminar on Eco-ethical thinking in a cross-cultural perspective. University of the Saarland, Germany