Difference Between Shallow And Deep

Deep and shallow ecologism can be seen by human beings in many ways and do indeed have similarities, one being in their care for the environment, although “by different means and to different ends”27. Some still consider the theories of ecologism and environmentalism as an ‘urban fad’ or ‘post-industrial romanticism’28. It is difficult, however, to change decades of preconceived ideas about a number of these issues. Human selfishness often allows us not to care about the damage we are currently inflicting, in the instance that it will not affect the natural world within our lifetime.

Radical ecologists believe that many human beings disagree with this view but possess feelings of individual helplessness, which they hope to instil instead with the feeling of ability to make changes. Shallow ecology ties in with idealism in that it is now culturally required to show some concern for environmental issues, if only for self-survival means29. Recycling, littering and organic foods are all contemporary examples of this, and ones which make obvious the fact that human beings can change their ways but often only to an extent which does not dramatically affect the way they live their lives.

Spirituality operates often as a key theme within notions of ecology, notably towards deep ecological theories as many spiritual writings emphasise on the ‘oneness’ of nature30. Primitive religions often found no differences between human beings and other life forms or the living and non-living31. Modern societal views can hence be attributed to the decline in closeness to nature.

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In more contemporary spiritual notions, Mother Earth, or the Gaia theory, suggests that the health of the planet matters far more than any individual species living upon it32, which is an inherently ‘deep’ idea.

Traditional Western and somewhat ‘shallow’ views are reflected in religions such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam33, whereas theories of equality among species belong more towards Eastern religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism34. A number of problems are apparent in all streams of ecology, although some apply specifically to the different groups themselves. Primarily, there is somewhat of an environmental disaster, as economic growth has disturbed the ‘balance of nature’35 and endangered the very ecosystem which makes human life possible.

In relation to change, the only kind of society that could withhold necessary changes would be that of a sustainable society, the only type that would allow ecosystems to rebuild themselves, and one which involved an equal balance between human beings and the natural environment36. Unfortunately, according to ‘deep’ ecological views, we should be discouraging human beings from attempting to maximise ownership of material objects, despite the fact that this is a prime goal in life for most.

There has been a shift from living equally with other life forms, to endangering them, to current day rendering a number of them extinct, and it is hard to reverse this kind of damage. The modern world is experiencing an environmental global crisis, which is a result of previous patterns and a challenge for the future. Future prospects of the environmental crisis can be anything from reduced levels of male fertility due to pollution, to climate change and the further erosion of animal and plant species37.

Therefore, the connotations involved in that “radical ecology is the cutting edge of social ecology” are that of drastic measures for the good of society and the natural world together. The population crisis can be seen by both ‘deep’ and ‘shallow’ ecologists, however it is often seen in different lights. ‘Deep’ ecologists often consider this population crisis as the source of almost all ecological problems, whereas shallow ecologists see it as a factor in deteriorating the quality of life for future generations38. Already methods are in place to counter it, such as the ‘one child’ policy in China.

However, it could be considered by many, radical ecologists in particular, that if in societies across the world it comes to this kind of necessary extreme, it may perhaps be too late to save both humankind and the surrounding environment alike. In relation to location, many countries have significantly larger amounts of valuable resources than others, and difficulties arise in whether to keep these private or whether there are obligations to share them with the rest of the human population in an equal, deeply ecological way39.

Also, many societies, particularly Westernized ones unused to a deep ecological form of thinking, are unable to argue environmental concerns for purely non-human related causes, although they might think they are doing just that40. As shown throughout the areas of economic growth, viewpoints on the relationship between animals and humans, and the problems and public faces of deep and shallow ecologies, there is a clear distinction between these ideologies.

Peter Bunyard declared that “what is missing is any sense of a more impartial, biocentric view in which the nonhuman world is considered to be of intrinsic value”41, and only through incorporating aspects of both deep and shallow forms of ecology can such a view ever be achieved.

Bibliography  Merchant, Carolyn, 1992. Radical ecology : the search for a livable world. Routledge, New York.  Singer, Peter, 2006. In defense of animals : the second wave. Blackwell Pub. , Malden, MA. 1 Andrew Heywood, Political Ideologies: an introduction ( Palgrave Macmillan, New York) Ch9 p 255 2 Andrew Heywood, Political theory : an introduction (Palgrave Macmillan, New York) Ch7 p193 3 ibid. Ch1 p. 11 4 Andrew Heywood, Political Ideologies: an introduction ( Palgrave Macmillan, New York) Ch9 p266 5 Andrew Heywood, Political theory : an introduction (Palgrave Macmillan, New York) Ch7 p193.

6 Andrew Dobson, Green Political Thought (Routledge, London; New York) Ch1 p15 7 ibid. p 15-16 8 Murray Bookchin, The ecology of freedom : the emergence and dissolution of hierarchy (Cheshire Books, Palo Alto, Calif) Ch3 p133 9 Robyn Eckersley, Environmentalism and political theory : toward an ecocentric approach (State University of New York Press, Albany) Ch2 p36 10 Carolyn Merchant, Radical ecology: the search for a livable world (Routledge, New York) Ch1 p29 11 Robyn Eckersley, Environmentalism and political theory : toward an ecocentric approach (State University of New York Press, Albany) Ch1 p15-16.

12 Murray Bookchin, The ecology of freedom : the emergence and dissolution of hierarchy (Cheshire Books, Palo Alto, Calif) Introduction, p22 13 ibid. Introduction, p 25 14 Andrew Dobson, Green Political Thought (Routledge, London; New York) Ch1 p16 15 Andrew Heywood, Political Ideologies: an introduction ( Palgrave Macmillan, New York) Ch9 p257 16 ibid. Ch9 p256 17 ibid. Ch9 p271 18 Murray Bookchin, The ecology of freedom : the emergence and dissolution of hierarchy (Cheshire Books, Palo Alto, Calif) Introduction, p16 19 Andrew Heywood, Political theory : an introduction (Palgrave Macmillan, New York) Ch7 p261.

20 ibid. Ch7 p193 21 Peter Singer, In defense of animals : the second wave, (Blackwell Pub. , Malden, MA) Ch2 p29 22 ibid. Ch1 p13 23 ibid. Ch2 p27 24 Andrew Heywood, Political theory : an introduction (Palgrave Macmillan, New York) Ch7 p196 25 Robyn Eckersley, Environmentalism and political theory : toward an ecocentric approach (State University of New York Press, Albany) Ch2 p35-36 26 Andrew Dobson, Green Political Thought (Routledge, London; New York) Ch1 p18 27 ibid. p18 28 Andrew Heywood, Political theory : an introduction (Palgrave Macmillan, New York) Ch7 p193.

29 Andrew Heywood, Political Ideologies: an introduction ( Palgrave Macmillan, New York) Ch9 p278 30 Andrew Dobson, Green Political Thought (Routledge, London; New York) Ch1 p19 31 Andrew Heywood, Political Ideologies: an introduction ( Palgrave Macmillan, New York) Ch9 p263 32 J. E. Lovelock, Gaia: a new look at life on earth (Oxford University Press, Oxford) Ch1 p10 33 Andrew Heywood, Political Ideologies: an introduction ( Palgrave Macmillan, New York) Ch9 p263 34 Andrew Heywood, Political theory : an introduction (Palgrave Macmillan, New York) Ch7 p192.

35 Andrew Heywood, Political Ideologies: an introduction ( Palgrave Macmillan, New York) Ch9 p260 36 Andrew Dobson, Green Political Thought (Routledge, London; New York) Ch1 p16 37 Andrew Heywood, Political Ideologies: an introduction ( Palgrave Macmillan, New York) Ch9 p278 38 Carolyn Merchant, Radical ecology: the search for a livable world (Routledge, New York) Ch1 p31 39 James Connelly and Graham Smith, Politics and the environment: from theory to practice, (Routledge, London, New York) Ch3 p32 40 Peter Bunyard and Fern Morgan-Grenville, The Green Alternative : guide to good living, (Methuen, London) Ch6 p285 41 ibid. Ch6 p284.