Objectivity, Ecology and Environmental Problems

Abstract

In this paper we inquire the way in which ecology approaches its object of study, nature. We "illustrate" this way of studying nature through a critique of objectivity developed by Theodore Roszak, emphasizing that ecology operates, in the context of environmental problems, <> it were objective. In this framework, we problematize: (i) how one meaning of nature is constructed in ecology, (ii) how the ecologist's experience in nature is silenced, (iii) how are values (spiritual, aesthetic or recreational) and ecosystemic knowledge linked together and finally (iv) we address the "nomad" condition of ecosystemic knowledge and its hegemonic position in the context of environmental issues. In general terms, the conclusions of this work are directed at relegating ecosystem knowledge to a more modest place within the current environmental crisis.