Building Ecological Culture, Showcasing Ecological Wisdom
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system, in which nothing can just be obtained or lost. It is subject to all measures of
improvement. Anything extracted from this system through human power must be
put back. A cost for that is inevitable, but may be delayed. The environmental crisis
today is warning us that we have owed our debts for too long.”
“Life means relying on the surrounding environment at all times,” said Edgar
Morin. Adjustment and restriction constitute the “living wisdom” of all species in
nature. Adaption is the selective reaction by creatures to changes in the environment,
whereby the system is adjusted to the expected state and ecosystem becomes an
adaptive system that performs both adjusting and restrictive functions.
The future of ecology depends on the weakening of control. We must abandon
the idea that ecology is independent and isolated. Ecological activities are part of
human activities and they reflect the relation between human society and nature and
the mutual effects between man and ecology.
4. Perpetual cycle of life, truth, good, beauty and sanctity
The development of ecosystem is a natural and historical process. Ecology evolves
in time and is distributed in a certain space, which embodies its temporal and spatial
orderliness as well as time-space unity. Everything must go somewhere—which
is the fourth ecological principle proposed by Commoner, namely the law of the
conservation of matter.
Ecosystem itself is characterized by truth, good, beauty and sanctity. When we
look at the ecosystem from a cultural perspective, those are the goals of an ecological
culture.
(1) Search for truth
The co-existence between man and ecological environment is a real state.
Rolston said, “A real person has to live in an environment. A person needs a
place to live, a base to create values—a need that has both non-moral and moral
elements. Either from the biological point of view or the perspective of material
need, there would not be human life had there not been a world full of resources and
ecosystems… People cannot become free away from their environment. They can
only obtain freedom in their environment and would lose a lot of marvelous values
of nature unless they observe nature’s rules all the time.”
(2) Inclination for good
The idea of man’s righteous actions should expand to include care for nature and
ecology, the moral concept of rights should expand to cover matters and processes in
nature, and the domain of moral actions should expand from between man and man
to between man and nature.
Good is preserving, promoting and developing life. As Albert Schweitzer said, “It
is good to maintain and further life; it is bad to damage and destroy life. We would be
considered ethical if we abandon our bias and our estrangement from other beings,
and share with living creatures around us. Only that makes us real humans; only that
gives us a special and clearly oriented character that will never be lost and will keep
evolving.”
593
system, in which nothing can just be obtained or lost. It is subject to all measures of
improvement. Anything extracted from this system through human power must be
put back. A cost for that is inevitable, but may be delayed. The environmental crisis
today is warning us that we have owed our debts for too long.”
“Life means relying on the surrounding environment at all times,” said Edgar
Morin. Adjustment and restriction constitute the “living wisdom” of all species in
nature. Adaption is the selective reaction by creatures to changes in the environment,
whereby the system is adjusted to the expected state and ecosystem becomes an
adaptive system that performs both adjusting and restrictive functions.
The future of ecology depends on the weakening of control. We must abandon
the idea that ecology is independent and isolated. Ecological activities are part of
human activities and they reflect the relation between human society and nature and
the mutual effects between man and ecology.
4. Perpetual cycle of life, truth, good, beauty and sanctity
The development of ecosystem is a natural and historical process. Ecology evolves
in time and is distributed in a certain space, which embodies its temporal and spatial
orderliness as well as time-space unity. Everything must go somewhere—which
is the fourth ecological principle proposed by Commoner, namely the law of the
conservation of matter.
Ecosystem itself is characterized by truth, good, beauty and sanctity. When we
look at the ecosystem from a cultural perspective, those are the goals of an ecological
culture.
(1) Search for truth
The co-existence between man and ecological environment is a real state.
Rolston said, “A real person has to live in an environment. A person needs a
place to live, a base to create values—a need that has both non-moral and moral
elements. Either from the biological point of view or the perspective of material
need, there would not be human life had there not been a world full of resources and
ecosystems… People cannot become free away from their environment. They can
only obtain freedom in their environment and would lose a lot of marvelous values
of nature unless they observe nature’s rules all the time.”
(2) Inclination for good
The idea of man’s righteous actions should expand to include care for nature and
ecology, the moral concept of rights should expand to cover matters and processes in
nature, and the domain of moral actions should expand from between man and man
to between man and nature.
Good is preserving, promoting and developing life. As Albert Schweitzer said, “It
is good to maintain and further life; it is bad to damage and destroy life. We would be
considered ethical if we abandon our bias and our estrangement from other beings,
and share with living creatures around us. Only that makes us real humans; only that
gives us a special and clearly oriented character that will never be lost and will keep
evolving.”