Environmental consciousness, nature and the philosophy of education: matters arising

Abstract

I make responses to each of the foregoing symposium papers and take the opportunity to clarify and to elaborate some of the key ideas that come up for discussion. In particular, the distinction between science and the kind of scientism that I take to pervade quotidian society at large is amplified, as is the character of the phenomenological approach that I take. I explore the significance of humility as a virtue that is central to environmental consciousness and endorse the transformational potential of mythopoetic participation in developing environmental consciousness as an exciting possibility. Giving consideration to the idea of an environmentalized rationality leads me to clarify the role and kind of conceptualization that is involved in direct experience of the native occurring of things in nature and to exploring some synergies between this latter idea and ideas deriving from Zen culture. I conclude by identifying some shared and closely interrelated themes that emerge from the symposium contributions and that are important in orientating environmental education. These themes include: the character and significance of direct embodied knowledge; the fostering of a genuinely receptive quality of consciousness; the need to focus on the character of our relationship with nature if we are to avoid an impoverished understanding of our environmental situation and misleading ideas of sustainability.