A study on the environmental issue from historical, anthropological, social, psychological, philosophical, economic, political and juridical perspectives

1. 1
OUTLINES ON ENVIRONMENTAL
PHILOSOPHY
AN ANTHOLOGICAL OVERVIEW FROM CULTURAL
PERSPECTIVES
GENERAL INDEX
GENERAL AND ORGANISATIONAL ASPECTS OF THE RESEARCH P. 9
Preface P. 9
The Area of Research P. 11
Disciplinary Cultural and Scientific Objectives of the Research P. 11
Work Phases P. 12
Disciplinary Advancement and Expected Results P. 13
The Main Sources For the Research P. 14
Key Words P. 15
Introductory Dictionary of Environmental Philosophy P. 15
INTRODUCTION P. 19
Emergent Properties P. 19
The Cultural Paradigm P. 22
The Economic Paradigm P. 25
The Political Paradigm P. 25
Man and the Biosphere P. 26

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PART I - CULTURE P. 31
1. THE ENVIRONMENT’S CULTURAL PARADIGM P. 55
Environmental Philosophy: a Cultural Vision of the World P. 55
Deep Ecology and the Theory of Emotional Affinity Toward Nature P. 57
How the Western Paradigm Relates To the Environment P. 59
Why Is Culture More Important Than Technology P. 61
The Relation Between Cultures of Scale and the Environment P. 64
The Psychological Aspect of Culture and Its Influence On the Environment P. 66
The Ecobiopsychological Vision P.70
2. ENVIRONMENT AND CULTURAL LIMITS P. 73
Refusing the Concept of Limit: western Civilisation’s Main Flaw P. 73
Multidimensional Equilibrium: the Natural Scale P. 75
The Importance of Psychological Aspects in Environmental Management P. 77
The Steady State Economy: a Model To Be Looked at P. 79
3. DIFFERENT VISIONS OF THE WORLD P. 83
Ecocentric vs. Anthropocentric Civilisations P. 83
The Involvement of the Environmental and Social Sectors P. 87
The 2007 Financial Crisis and the New Enclosures P. 89
4. KNOWLEDGE VS. TECHNOLOGY P. 93
Philosophical vs. Economic Progress P. 93
Institutionalisation P. 98
5. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN KNOWLEDGE AND CULTURE P. 107
Fundamentals of the Industrial Model P. 107
Communication, Energy and Their Impact on Culture P. 109
Knowledge and Technology For Society and the Environment P. 115
6. DEVELOPEMENT P. 121
The Energy of Tomorrow P. 121
The Water and Food of Tomorrow P. 125
A More Ecological Lifestyle P. 129

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7. THE NETWORK IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE P. 133
INDIVIDUAL
The Laws of the Universe P. 133
The Biosphere’s Entropy P. 136
8. JOYFUL AUSTERITY P. 143
From Productivity To Conviviality P. 143
Relational vs. Commercial Goods P. 145
Macro and Micro P. 148
Technological Democratisation P. 150
9. RELATIONAL SOCIETY P. 155
The Need of Changing the Dominating Ideology P. 155
More Private and Less Common P. 157
How To Measure the Well Being of People P. 159
PART II – ECONOMICS P. 165
10. HOMO OECONOMICUS P. 181
Man’s Innate Motivations P. 181
Civil Economics P. 183
A Human-Based Paradigm P. 187
The Importance of Women P. 190
11. EXPONENTIAL GROWTH P. 195
Economic Growth As Cause of Less Social and Economic Rights P. 195
Economic Growth As Cause of Less Environmental and Landscape Rights P. 197
12. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE EARTH P. 203
Land and Food P. 203
Ecoservices P. 206

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The Prospect-Refuge Theory P. 208
13. THE LIMITS OF DEVELOPEMENT P. 211
Market, Nature and Subsistence Economy P. 211
Economics For Individuals or Society? P. 215
14. DEGROWTH P. 221
Man’s Homeostasis Within His Environment P. 221
A Degrowth-Based Economy P. 226
15. LOCALISATION P. 229
Effects of a Localisation-Based Paradigm P. 229
Shifting From Globalisation To Localisation P. 235
PART III – POLITICS AND LAW P. 239
16. SUSTAINABILITY AND DEMOCRACY P. 253
Visions of the Future P. 253
Justice and Sustainability P. 254
17. GOVERNING ACCORDING TO NATURE P. 261
Society’s Role P. 261
Overdetermination vs. Direct Involvement in Society’s Choices P. 267
18. COMMON-POOL GOODS P. 271
The Common-Pool Resources Model P. 271
The Modernity of Common-Pool Resources P. 276
19. THE RIGHT TO COMMON-POOL GOODS P. 281
Juridical Systems and Property/Use Rights P. 281
Public and Private vs. Collective Rights P. 284

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20. PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY P. 289
Environmental Rights and Public Participation P. 289
Common Heritage and Common Concern P. 291
Landscape Rights P. 394
Individual vs. Collective Rights P. 396
CONCLUSION P. 303
SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE REFERENCE P. 311
INDEX OF FIGURES AND TABLES P. 323
ABSTRACT IN ENGLISH P. 327

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7. 7
OUTLINES ON ENVIRONMENTAL
PHILOSOPHY
AN ANTHOLOGICAL OVERVIEW FROM CULTURAL
PERSPECTIVES
To our sister Mother Earth,
who feeds us and rules us

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9. 9
GENERAL AND ORGANISATIONAL ASPECTS OF THE RESEARCH
Preface
The biosphere might be intended as composed by two elements, namely nature,
including all the subjects inhabiting it (from the inanimate ones to plants and
animals), and humans. The relation between humans and nature began when man
appeared on the planet and then evolved through time.
At the beginning nature was perhaps perceived by man like an entity to be afraid
of, full of dangers, extremely powerful, which must be respected and worshipped.
Myths throughout the planet originated from the natural events. In order for men to
understand and become more familiar with inexplicable facts and laws, like the
movement of the stars, rising and sunset of the sun, coming of seasons, only to cite a
few, it is likely that myths were created.
Personification, humanisation or animalisation of such events have perhaps made
nature and its perennial laws more understandable and acceptable for primitive
cultures. According to the first myths, great respect and gratefulness to nature were
perceived as an obligation as well as being deeply felt in primitive men’s minds and
souls. It seemed that humans worshipped nature and its elements like divinities,
believing that they deserved such respect for the mere fact that that without them life
in any form could not exists.
At the beginning of the 3rd
millennium such belief might seem to have changed a
lot, although it is still a fact that life on the planet might occur only because of nature
and its laws.
The dominant civilisation nowadays, the Western one, seems perhaps to believe
that not so much is owed to nature and that man might act without worrying about it.

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It seems that the majority of the other civilisations today seem to be on the verge of
embracing such a paradigm, perceiving it as the most appropriate one.
Only a minority of individuals, nowadays, appears to be more rooted in the
ancient vision of the universe, the one which holds that we are on this planet to share
our lives and destinies in accordance to the perennial laws of nature. These cultures
believe man to be on the same ontological and ethical level as nature, not above it.
This seems to represent still the dominating paradigm for traditional civilisation, and,
to some extent, for Eastern ones.
Why has the majority of civilisations instead moved from the archaic paradigm to
the current one? The advent of religion first (especially monotheisms), and
ideologies in a second phase (especially capitalism and communism), may appear to
have made men believe that they were the most special subjects within the universe,
thus granting them the right to act as they pleased without having to take too much
into account an bear in mind the rules of the biosphere.
Ecology is a term which does not exist in traditional cultures. It is so because
every thought and action is taken, within such paradigms, according to nature. In a
way such cultures, being thoroughly environmental, seem not even be needing the
existence of such word in their vocabulary. The term has in fact begun to appear in
the West, around forty years ago.
There might seem to arise a lack of discussion, especially in the Western world,
on issues related to the environment. Culture, economics, politics, seem to seldom
seriously face the issue. This might seem difficult to understand, taking into
consideration that for traditional cultures as well as for animals and plants the state of
nature is the most important aspect of reality, as life itself depends on it.
For people culture might represent what determines every person’s thought or
action. A person might think and act according to the paradigm underling his
culture. In the same way, if a culture is not based upon nature and its laws, people
belonging to that particular culture might usually not act in an ecological way.
It may appear relevant for each aspect of culture to give back more and more
importance to nature. It could seem appropriate for our inner life, our exterior one,
and for the biosphere as a whole.
The essay represents an anthological overview involving cultural (psychological,
philosophical, historical, anthropological, sociological) as well as economic and
political aspects directly or indirectly related to the environmental issue.

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The Area of Research
The area of research involves a theoretical model based on three aspect of life:
culture, economics and politics. The first one seems to be driving the second one, as
the second one seems in turn to affect the third one.
Culture could perhaps be conceived as the set of all beliefs which forge a
civilisation. People belonging to a particular civilisation might have a common
background of principles, according to which they might think and act.
Economics is the science which studies how we administer or govern our home,
namely, the biosphere. A civilisation with an underlying culture which is ecological
might perhaps entail a type of economy which is respectful of nature.
Finally, politics, the science which applies the economic theories and turns them
into obligation for a particular community, through its legislation is investigated.
The research aims at exposing an anthological overview regarding different topics
all linked to the theme of environment philosophy. Since the environment is home to
all of the subjects inhabiting the biosphere, a deeper inclination toward knowledge in
this sense might perhaps prove relevant.
Disciplinary Cultural and Scientific Objectives of the Research
The main cultural and scientific objective of the research is to explain how and why
culture might be perceived as the most fundamental paradigm when analysing any
kind of dimension of reality. The anthological overview of the essay is aimed at
providing a theoretical model which might be intended as a tool to be utilised within
the intellectual speculation as well as within the economic and political debate and
decision making process.
It is pointed out how reasoning and decisions of any type seem usually be deriving
from the psychological dimension, which might be intended as the most relevant
sphere which embodies culture, because what is deeply rooted in the unconscious
nature of man seem to be deriving from what the conscious one entails. By
considering the conscious sphere as that which includes culture, to individuate and
analyse the set of underlying values, beliefs and principles seems fundamental to
correctly enquire man’s conscious and unconscious nature.

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In turn, it is claimed, the cultural paradigm is believed to contain and affect the
economic one, which seems to perhaps represent the dominating model according to
which the theoretical approach to the biosphere is conceived. Finally, politics is
assumed to constitute the practical system which puts into effect economic decisions.
It is argued that in philosophical terms the deep ecological paradigm could
represent a meaningful cultural justification for an improvement and development of
the economic and thus political aspects, since such philosophy seems to provide for
a complete and deep correlation between the cultural and environmental aspects of
life for man.
Psychology, it is pointed out, seems therefore the starting point from which to
begin any kind of investigation with respect to any dimension of reality.
Psychoanalysis, it is explained, and in particular analytical psychology, may perhaps
represent a most valuable tool in this sense.
Ecobiopsychology is a recent branch of analytical psychology which, it is
proposed, appears to be deeply correlated with the deep ecological vision. At the
unconscious level, in fact, it is believed that man perceives himself to be thoroughly
connected with the biosphere, both at the psychological and somatic level, as an
element inextricably linked to the ecosystem.
The worrying current environmental situation is described, as well as the
connection that seems to arise with the effects produced by the global dominating
culture. Since the dominating culture today seems to be represented by the Western
civilisation, the research focuses on main aspects underlying such a model in social,
economic and political terms. It is proposed how perhaps, by analysing and trying to
modify the principles which shape Western civilisation’s model, effective positive
environmental and social outcomes might be attained.
It is highlighted how there seem to arise different and contrasting positions in
regard to the most appropriate meaning of the concept of progress. A limited world
might entail limited resources, hence the need for mankind to always bear this in
mind, regardless of the scientific and technological level reached.
Work Phases
The research was organised in several phases:

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1. Creation of an introductory description of the anthological overview and structure
of the research in regard to the multidisciplinary areas of investigation involved
2. Analysis of disciplinary and theoretical concepts that characterise the field of
culture
2.2 Environmental philosophy
2.3 Environment and psychological aspects
2.4 Sociological and anthropological aspects
2.5 Knowledge and technology
2.6 Physical aspects
2.7 Relational society
3. Analysis of disciplinary and theoretical concepts that characterise the field of
economics
3.1 Economic motivations
3.2 Economic growth
3.3 Degrowth and localisation
4. Analysis of disciplinary and theoretical concepts that characterise the field of
politics and law
4.1 Sustainability and democracy
4.2 Common-pool resources
4.3 Participatory democracy
5. Discussion of obtained results and creation of a theoretical proposal of elaboration
derived from the research’s contribution
Disciplinary Advancement and Expected Results
Possible advancements of the research are might perhaps be found within the fields
of outer space, management of natural resources of our planet and knowledge of our
psyche.
There may arise the need of developing an epistemic model which could be
utilised in any situation both at the inner, outer, personal, collective, private or public
level when taking a choice in any field or aspect of reality as it could prove a useful

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tool for intellectual speculation and decision making. The three elements
characterising the models might be represented by environmental philosophical,
political ecological and ecobiopsychological aspects.
Environmental philosophy might perhaps drive the epistemic stance in relation to
outer space issues such as how the universe was created, what is the nature of the
matter composing it, how are galaxies moving, if it is possible to have different
concepts of time and space than those we are used to, for instance. It might seem
that physics, astrophysics, in particular, ought have to be accounted for to support
and affect the environmental philosophical speculation in this regard.
At our planet’s level, instead, political ecology could perhaps represent the
epistemic stance from which man might start thinking his approach and impact on
the biosphere. Political ecological thought might develop in many areas in which it
is nowadays not implemented, hopefully supported by physics, thermodynamics in
particular. As well as the employment of renewable energies instead of exhaustible
ones, the political economic paradigm could perhaps investigate the educational or
health issues, for instance.
Ecobiopsychology might appear to represent an appropriate paradigm to deal with
inner life. It is a new branch of analytical psychology which takes into account, as
well as dreams, for instance, also the relationship between the mental and physical
nature of all living beings. As science for environmental psychology and outer
space, ecobiopsychology may perhaps prove useful, supported by physics, quantum
physics in particular, to improve our knowledge of how subconscious life works.
The Main Sources For the Research
The topic of the research appears to be quite heterogeneous as it includes several
different areas of investigation and subjects. Therefore, the essay has been divided
into three sections (Culture-Economics-Politics and Law) in order to provide an
organic structure of a multidisciplinary thesis.
Each section is further subdivided in chapters which might be considered as
separate from each other but which, at the same time, refer to the area of analysis of
the section they are included in.

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For the first section (Culture) the main sources for the research included
international institutions’ documentation, bibliography, siteography and notes from
the University of Nova Gorica’s (Slovenia) PhD program’s lectures mainly from
disciplines belonging to different areas of study such as psychology, philosophy,
anthropology, sociology.
For the second section of the thesis (Economics) the main sources for the research
included international institutions’ documentation, bibliography and siteography
mainly from disciplines belonging to the economic area.
For the third section (Politics and Law) the main sources for the research included
international institutions’ documentation, bibliography and siteography mainly from
disciplines belonging to different areas of study such as political science and law.
Key Words
1. Deep Ecology
2. Degrowth
3. Relational Society
4. Common-Pool Goods
5. Participatory Democracy
Introductory Dictionary of Environmental Philosophy
Analytical
Psychology
Carl Jung (1875-1961) was a Swiss psychotherapist and psychiatrist who
founded analytical psychology. Jung proposed and developed the
concepts of the extraverted and the introverted personality, archetypes,
and the collective unconscious. His work has been influential in
psychiatry and in the study of religion, literature, and related fields.
Individuation is the central concept of analytical psychology. Jung
considered individuation, the psychological process of integrating the
opposites, including the conscious with the unconscious while still
maintaining their relative autonomy, to be the central process of human
development. Jung is one of the best known contemporary contributors
to dream analysis and symbolization.
Common-Pool
Goods
In economics, a common-pool resource, also called a common property
resource, is a type of good consisting of a natural or human-made
resource system (for instance, an irrigation system or fishing grounds),
whose size or characteristics makes it costly, but not impossible, to
exclude potential beneficiaries from obtaining benefits from its use.
Unlike pure public goods, common-pool resources face problems of

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congestion or overuse, because they are deductable. A common-pool
resource typically consists of a core resource (for instance water or fish),
which defines the stock variable, while providing a limited quantity of
extractable fringe units, which defines the flow variable. While the core
resource is to be protected or entertained in order to allow for its
continuous exploitation, the fringe units can be harvested or consumed.
A common property regime is a particular social arrangement regulating
the preservation, maintenance, and consumption of a common-pool
resource. The use of the term common property resource to designate a
type of good has been criticised, because common-pool resources are not
necessarily governed by common property regimes. Examples of
common-pool resources include irrigation systems, fishing grounds,
grazing lands, forests, water or the atmosphere. A grazing land, for
instance, allows for a certain amount of grazing occurring each year
without the core resource being harmed. In the case of excessive
grazing, however, the pasture may become more prone to erosion and
eventually yield less benefit to its users. Because their core resources
are vulnerable, common-pool resources are generally subject to the
problems of congestion, overuse, pollution, and potential destruction
unless harvesting or use limits are devised and enforced. The use of
many common-pool resources, if managed carefully, can be extended
because the resource system forms a positive feedback loop, where the
stock variable continually regenerates the fringe variable as long as the
stock variable is not compromised, providing an optimum amount of
consumption. However, consumption exceeding the fringe value reduces
the stock variable, which in turn decreases the flow variable. If the stock
variable is allowed to regenerate then the fringe and flow variables may
also recover to initial levels, but in many cases the loss is irreparable.
Common-pool resources may be owned by national, regional or local
governments as public goods, by communal groups as common property
resources, or by private individuals or corporations as private goods.
When they are owned by no one, they are used as open access resources.
Deep Ecology Deep ecology is a contemporary ecological philosophy distinguished by
its advocacy of the inherent worth of living beings regardless of their
instrumental utility to human needs. Deep ecology argues that the
natural world is a subtle balance of complex inter-relationships in which
the existence of organisms is dependent on the existence of others within
ecosystems. Human interference with or destruction of the natural world
poses a threat therefore not only to humans but to all organisms
constituting the natural order. Deep ecology's core principle is the belief
that the living environment as a whole should be respected and regarded
as having certain legal right to live and flourish. It describes itself as
deep because it regards itself as looking more deeply into the actual
reality of humanity's relationship with the natural world arriving at
philosophically more profound conclusions than that of the prevailing
view of ecology as a branch of Darwinian biological science. The
movement does not subscribe to anthropocentric environmentalism
(which is concerned with conservation of the environment only for
exploitation by and for human purposes) since deep ecology is grounded
in a quite different set of philosophical assumptions. Deep ecology takes
a more holistic view of the world human beings live in and seeks to
apply to life the understanding that the separate parts of the ecosystem
(including humans) function as a whole.
Degrowth The Romanian economist Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen is considered the
creator of degrowth, and its main theoretician. Around 1971 he noted
that the neoclassical economic model did not take into account the
second law of thermodynamics, by not accounting for the degradation of
energy and matter (that is, increase in entropy). Entropy is an extensive
thermodynamic property that is the measure of a system’s thermal
energy per unit temperature that is unavailable for doing useful work.

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He associated every economic activity with an increase in entropy,
whose increase implied the loss of useful resources. When a selection of
his articles was translated into French in 1979 it spurred the creation of
the movement in France. Degrowth is a political, economic, and social
movement based on ecological economics, anti-consumerist and anti-
capitalist ideas. Degrowth thinkers and activists advocate for the
downscaling of production and consumption (the contraction of
economies) as overconsumption lies at the root of long term
environmental issues and social inequalities.
Ecobiopsichology Ecobiopsychology’s epistemological model, result of hypotheses,
research and tests tries to find the causes (aetiology) and the dynamics
(pathogenesis) of the psychosomatic phenomenon. The
ecobiopsychological model has been approved by the Consensus
Statement on Psychosomatic Medicine and the Psychological Training
for Physicians in May 1997, by the Italian Society of Psychosomatic
Medicine, the Italian affiliation of the International College of
Psychosomatic Medicine.
Ecological
Footprint
The ecological global footprint is a measure of human demand on the
Earth's ecosystems. It is a standardised measure of demand for natural
capital that may be contrasted with the planet's ecological capacity to
regenerate. It represents the amount of biologically productive land and
sea area necessary to supply the resources a human population
consumes, and to assimilate associated waste. Using this assessment, it
is possible to estimate how much of the Earth (or how many planets
Earth) it would take to support humanity if everybody followed a given
lifestyle. Every year, this number is recalculated to incorporate the
three-year lag due to the time it takes for the United Nations to collect
and publish statistics and relevant research. Although the term
“ecological footprint” is widely used and well known, the methods used
to calculate it vary greatly. However, standards are now emerging to
make results more comparable and consistent. The first academic
publication about the ecological footprint was by Canadian economist
William Rees in 1992. The ecological footprint concept and calculation
method was developed as the PhD dissertation of Swiss engineer Mathis
Wackernagel, under Rees' supervision at the University of British
Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, from 1990–1994. Originally,
Wackernagel and Rees called the concept appropriated carrying capacity.
To make the idea more accessible, Rees came up with the term
ecological footprint, inspired by a computer technician who praised his
new computer's small footprint on the desk.
Emergent
Properties
A term used in science, systems theory, philosophy, urbanism and even
art, emergent properties refers to those properties that arise from the
collaborative functioning of a system, but do not belong to any one part
of that system. In other words, emergent properties are properties of a
group that are not possible when any of the individual elements of that
group act alone.
Negative
Endogenous
Growth
In 2002 Siena’s (Italy) Richard Goodwin University professors and
researchers Stefano Bartolini and Luigi Bonatti developed such model.
The negative endogenous growth capitalism model, they argue, is the
type of organisation which tends to produce degrade in regards to
relational goods. When people tend to work less, they have more time
for themselves and for relatives and friends as well as for other activities
which are not related with their jobs or the economy as we know it. Less
work seems to be positive for mental, emotive and physical health,
namely for an increased production of relational goods. The key point is
that when economic growth produces degrade a process in which growth
feeds relational (and environmental) degrade starts; this again feeds
economic growth, leading to the result that growing amount of private
economic output yields to an increasing poverty in what is common:
relationships and environment. Such a vicious circle is typical of

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negative endogenous growth. It has a foreseeable effect because while
our access to private goods increases that to common-pool goods
decreases.
Participatory
Democracy
Participatory democracy is a process emphasizing the broad participation
of constituents in the direction and operation of political systems.
Etymological roots of democracy imply that the people are in power and
thus that all democracies are participatory. However, participatory
democracy tends to advocate more involved forms of citizen
participation than traditional representative democracy. Participatory
democracy strives to create opportunities for all members of a population
to make meaningful contributions to decision-making, and seeks to
broaden the range of people who have access to such opportunities.
Since so much information must be gathered for the overall decision-
making process to succeed, technology may provide important forces
leading to the type of empowerment needed for participatory models,
especially those technological tools that enable community narratives
and correspond to the accretion of knowledge. Effectively increasing the
scale of participation, and translating small but effective participation
groups into small world networks, are areas currently being studied.
Other advocates have emphasised the importance of face to face
meetings, warning that an overreliance on technology can be harmful.
Some scholars argue for refocusing the term on community-based
activity within the domain of civil society, based on the belief that a
strong non-governmental public sphere is a precondition for the
emergence of a strong liberal democracy. These scholars tend to stress
the value of separation between the realm of civil society and the formal
political realm
Relational
Society / Civil
economics
The term” relational society” or “civil economics” is primarily referred
to a cultural perspective of interpretation of the entire economy, on the
basis of an economic market theory based on the principles of reciprocity
and fraternity, alternative to the capitalistic one. Civil economics is
based on the following principles: division of labour, that is
specialisation of tasks which has as consequence the achievement of
endogenous exchanges (different to the exogenous ones, which derive
from the existence of accumulation), which in turn increase the
productivity of the system in which they are in; the concept of
development, which, on one side, assumes, on a Judaic-Christian cultural
vision, the existence of an intergenerational solidarity, that is, of an
interest from the present generation towards the future ones, while, one
the other side, is linked to that concept of accumulation; the concept of
liberty of entrepreneurship, according to which who possesses
entrepreneurial skills must be free to start an economic activity. For
entrepreneurial skills are to be intended risk propensity (that is the
impossibility of having a sure success from the activity), innovation or
creativity (that is the skill of adding in an increasing fashion knowledge
to the productive good/process), the ars combinatoria (the entrepreneur,
knowing the characteristics of the participants to the entrepreneurial
activity, organises them in order to reach the best result); the goal, that is,
the type of product (good or service) to be obtained. This last principle
is in particular the one differentiating civil economics from capitalistic
market economy: if, in fact, the latter has assumed as its proper goal the
obtaining of the so called overall wealth, civil economics instead seeks
what is known as common wealth.

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INTRODUCTION
Ancient Chinese mentality sees the Universe
in a way which is similar to the modern physicist’s
who cannot deny that the model of the Universe
is definitely a psychophysical structure
Carl Jung
Emergent Properties
With the exception of the cosmos, the sun and the other planets, our biosphere
includes all of the planet’s atmosphere, the seas, the Earth’s surface and everything
which lies beneath it, as well as inorganic elements, plants and animals. Man is a
species among the many which followed one another along the path of evolution.
Primitive cultures as well as, to some extent, Oriental ones, have always believed
that the human species was only one of the many parts which composed the totality
of the universe, not so different for importance nor dignity when compared to the rest
of the living beings and inorganic elements. It seems that such a belief could change
man’s current approach to the biosphere.

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The biosphere does not seem to correspond to man or its tool. As well as society
as a set of different civilisations, the environment, inorganic elements as well as
plants, flowers and animals, form and are part of the biosphere. It would seem
appropriate for human behaviour always to bear this concept in mind when dealing
with cultural, economic or political issues, theoretical models, decision making,
implementation of programmes or actions of any kind, for any small action might
produce repercussions on the entire biosphere.
There seem to arise a need for humanity to understand that man is only one small
part of the biosphere, linked to other elements, and that the relation between him and
the rest of the environment is like the one which can be found within the different
parts of an organism.
The body, for instance, is composed by different organs, each of them functioning
according to its own specificities and tasks. If one of these organs does not work
properly or is damaged, because of the existing tight net of interdependency
prevailing, every single part of the system, as well as the system as a whole, might
suffer the consequences deriving from such a malfunction.
It may seem that this is the way life has always worked and developed. It seems
that it is not the single part which allows an organism to live, feed and develop, but
the specialised and coordinated set of different elements. The connection among
parts seems to be what enables the whole system to survive, progress and procreate.
It might be that such paradigm ought to reach man’s vision and become deeply
rooted within contemporary world’s civilisation. The change in beliefs, mentality
and philosophy might be the key to improve and bring humanity to a wiser and just
relation with the biosphere.
Emergent properties is an ecobiopsicological term. Ecobiopsichology is a recent
and specialised branch born out of analytical psychology.
The theory of emergent properties holds that the renounce of something (sacrifice)
by a single entity for the progress of the community (like a cell for an organ, an
organ for an organism and so on) brings to the evolution of the entire system to a
higher level of development. Such term is borrowed from chemistry and biology but

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can be also applied to people, societies and civilisations, according to the
ecobiopsychological approach1
.
The biosphere had been present and was functioning properly before man’s
appearance and will probably continue to exists if one day mankind will decline. In
other terms the biosphere works anyhow in a natural anarchic fashion, through a
system in which each element, organic and inorganic, knows its role, what to do and
how to behave, in relation to the roles and functions of the other parts. The way that
might be followed is the one of nature, thus following the laws of physics, chemistry
and biology.
Man often confers to himself a series of principles (cultural, economic and
political) which go directly on the opposite way to nature’s. The rest of the planet
does not need culture, economics and politics to work and function. This is why
such aspects are in a sense irrelevant to the rest of the subjects of the biosphere.
However, when thinking new paradigms regarding contemporary society one
could consider these fundamental pillars of civilisation (culture, economics and
politics).
Man, like all other living beings, naturally tends to socialisation and cooperation
in order to satisfy his needs and develop. It is in such way that even primitive
societies evolved and progressed. Grouping and cooperation have allowed man to
overcome his weakness in reference to the environment and animals, for instance. In
a second moment, again cooperation among individuals brought him to the incredible
discoveries which are today under everyone’s eyes. Aggression and competition
toward other individuals and the environment, as well as animals and other living
beings, began with the advent of patriarchal society, as also Swiss jurist and
anthropologist Johann Bachofen claims2
.
1
Cities, the brain, ant colonies and complex chemical systems, for instance, all exhibit emergent
properties that serve to illustrate the concept. Refer Pusceddu, Maria (2010) Gioco di Specchi –
Riflessioni Tra Natura e Psiche Persiani
2
Johann Bachofen was a Swiss jurist and anthropologist, professor for Roman law at the University of
Basel from 1841 to 1845. Bachofen is most often connected with his theories surrounding prehistoric
matriarchy, or Mutterrecht, the title of his seminal 1861 book Mother Right: an Investigation of the
Religious and Juridical Character of Matriarchy in the Ancient World. Bachofen assembled
documentation demonstrating that motherhood is the source of human society, religion, morality, and
decorum. He postulated an archaic mother-right within the context of a primeval matriarchal religion.
Bachofen became an important precursor of 20th
century theories of matriarchy, such as the Old
European culture postulated by Marija Gimbutas from the 1950s, and the field of feminist theology
and matriarchal studies in 1970s feminism. Refer to Bachofen, Johann (2009) Myth, Matriarchy and
Modernity: Johan Jakob Bachofen in German Culture De Gruyter / Il Matriarcato – Storia e Mito
Tra Oriente e Occidente Marinotti

22. 22
Matriarchal cultures from which all civilisations derive, according to many
authors, including Bachofen and Gimbutas, were characterised by cooperation and
sharing, inexistence of private property and money, polygamy, absence of positive
laws (the laws of nature were followed) and, above all, a deep correlation with the
biosphere3
.
It is argued that when the patriarchal society prevailed about some six-seven
millennia ago, individualism, the search for power through hierarchies, inequality
and aggression toward peoples and environment, the funding of religions, rudimental
political structures and their relatives laws all favoured the development of today’s
societies4
.
The current times might seem to be the peak of such culture, and the results of
such a model appear quite relevant in many fields.
It may seem appropriate that the problems of the planet and its peoples’ will be
tackled as soon as possible, and to do this it might be desirable to eradicate cultural
paradigms which are clearly anti-ecological.
The Cultural Paradigm
A metaphorical model (Figure I. 1) which unravels the research’s structure and in
which three concentric circles exist could be imagined. One could think about the
biggest circle to represent culture, the intermediate one economics, and the smallest
one politics.
3
Marija Gimbutas (1921-1994) was a Lithuanian archaeologist known for her research into the
Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures of Old Europe (a term coined by her to describe what she
perceived as a relatively homogeneous and widespread pre-Indo-European Neolithic culture in
Europe, particularly in Malta and the Balkans) and for her widely though not universally accepted
Kurgan hypothesis, which located the Proto-Indo-European homeland in the Pontic Steppe (the vast
steppe land stretching from the Northern shores of the Black Sea as far East as the Caspian Sea, from
Western Ukraine across the Southern Federal District and the Volga Federal District of Russia to
Western Kazakhstan). Refer to Gimbutas, Maria (2008) The Language of the Goddess: Unearthing
the Hidden Symbols of Western Civilisation Harper / Il Linguaggio della Dea Venexia
4
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriarchy#History

23. 23
CULTURE
ECONOMICS
POLITICS AND LAW
Figure I. 1 Research’s Structure Theoretical Model – The research is structured into three
sections, namely Culture, Economics, Politics and Law. This subdivision reflects the theoretical
scheme proposed as a tool to analyse and tackle issue or situation in general. The chapters are
inserted in each different section according to the nature of their contents.
It seems that from the absence of an ethic of nature among humans, the moral
principles which guided societies along history were often forged to a pattern which
departed more and more from the original natural one. A paradigm, the prevailing
one, which granted man ever growing importance, to the detriment of everything else
that surrounded him.
It might be appropriate to point out that along with the three pillars elaborated
within the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil based on
the safeguard of the planet and its peoples, a fourth one could be taken into account5
.
Such a proposal has been made at the 2nd
Earth Summit held again in Rio in 2012,
the so called Rio +206
.
The fourth pillar which could be added to the social, economic and environmental
arose to be culture.
From basic everyday-actions like hunting, gathering food, producing small
utensils and artefacts, typical of the Palaeolithic man, to genetic manipulation, social
inequality and globalisation, it seems that mankind has gone further and further away
from feeling similar to other species and living a life respectful of the environment.
In order to modify such paradigms and evolve to a more natural one, it might be
5
http://www.un.org/geninfo/bp/enviro.html
6
http://www.uncsd2012.org/objectiveandthemes.html

24. 24
appropriate to fight a war within the fields of mankind’s ethics, psychology and
beliefs, namely within culture.
It seems that ecobiopsychology tends not only to look to the social sphere, but at
man in relation with the biosphere as a whole. Ecobiopsychology might be
perceived as very effective in producing a real and significant impact in the deep
aspects of man.
One could claim that each battle won within the cultural sphere will as a
consequent effect shape ethics, psychology and beliefs of each individual. A person
usually acts according to the paradigms and ideals which are deeply rooted in his
unconscious, allowing for his actions to be but a mere reflexion of such principles.
The cultural one seems to be the mother of all battles. The goal might be to bring
deeply rooted values, beliefs and values from the conscious to the unconscious
sphere, so that it could become natural for man to act in a certain way, without
having to think about it. How could this be done? Families and educational and
formative agencies (for instance schools) appear primal in this mission. Both at the
family and school level the environmental and social issues could become prominent.
Everyday families might make an effort in trying to stress the importance of the
environment and of each part of society (especially the weakest and last ones such as
the ill, poor, handicapped, children, women, elder, jobless, foreigners). Ministries of
education could decide to include up to high school programs environmental and
social education. The first discipline could teach children about what the
environment is, how it works and how it interacts with society. Also the teaching of
good practices and practical actions like for instance waste differentiation might be
taught. Finally in social education hours depiction of the above cited weak groups’
characteristics could be explained. Students may also be taught how to relate and
interact with these particular categories. Once a month everybody (and this could
somehow also become mandatory for firms and public and private entities) might get
involved with the elder, poor, jobless, handicapped in concrete projects and
activities.
Theory might therefore be followed by practical exercise. This could become a
common pillar for councils’ social policies. Every district or city has poor, elder,
handicapped people. It may prove fundamental to stimulate schools, firms, public
entities to become more and more acquainted with such issues, as well as with
environmental ones. Environment and society are together two pillars which culture,

25. 25
economy and politics could begin to look at and work with more and more
intensively in the future.
The Economic Paradigm
At the second level of the model one could notice that society is today, like never
before, ruled by economics. Economics is the study of how people with infinite
needs behave in order to satisfy them, constrained by limited resources.
However, a part from primal necessities (generally speaking food, water, shelter
and clothing) almost all of the other needs seem to have come out from paradigms
and ideologies such as, for instance, materialism and consumerism, just to quote two,
which forged people’s beliefs, especially within the West.
This seems one of the reasons why by abolishing many Western values, many of
the false needs which appear primal might perhaps be eradicated. The real needs a
person has are limited, once the hybris, the delirium of omnipotence, could be
silenced.
It may not be surprising then, that a civilisation so distant from the natural
paradigm yields an economic system so distant from aspects regarding natural
resources and of our home, the biosphere.
The Political Paradigm
The lowest level, the smallest circle, is represented by politics. Politics has been the
means through which economic power has often revealed itself. In the same way,
laws often seem to represent the means through which political power reaches its
goals.
It seems that political power, which is today so significant in most parts of the
world could through culture be changed from the inside.

26. 26
Laws seem to be the result to which mankind has arrived once it departed more
and more from abiding to the rules of nature. If a paradigm in accordance with the
biosphere and all human beings would commonly and deeply be acknowledged and
shared, the only rule to be followed could perhaps be more felt by every civilisation.
Thus there might arise three levels within battles could be fought. The one within
the heart of people, in order to convince them to adopt a different paradigm, is the
cultural one. It seems the most difficult to challenge, and at the same time the one in
which changes, if achieved, might prove most effective and long-lasting, once ethics,
psychology and beliefs could tune to the rules of nature, as these constitute the
fundamental elements from which every thought and action derive.
If one considers man as the centre of the system, and the biosphere at his
exclusive use and consumption, the risk of destroying mankind as a whole together
with an enormous amount of animal and vegetable species might become quite real.
After all, the planet might survive, if not annihilated by on outer space cause, for the
very fact that it is capable of ways and times of reaction which man might never
reach, regardless of the level of technology achieved.
Study, investigation and research seem to be some of the most relevant and
effective choices an individual could implement toward such a change. A small
change could make a meaningful difference, if taken for granted or perceived as
model to be followed. Families, school and societies might upset the dominating
current ideology which the world seems to have embraced as the best one in all
aspects of everyday life.
Man and the Biosphere
The world as we know it has been existing for around five billions of years.
Endogenous and exogenous cataclysms have since then occurred: the biosphere
changed, has adapted its elements and inhabitants each time accordingly. It will
probably not wait for man to change. It will most likely change anyway, when the
time will come. The effect of its reactions do not take into consideration the needs of
our species. Some researchers claim that the sun will keep burning providing energy

27. 27
to our planet for other 5 billion years more (the sun is considered a star which at the
middle of its life, having burnt for 5 billion years already). This is the time span
before our planet might change and become a different one compared to what it has
been so far. In fact it may one day look a little bit like Mars today7
.
The biosphere might be thought of as an environmental common heritage man
shares with the rest of the subjects which live with him within the same environment.
This might be a reason why the way to manage at best such common heritage could
be rethought, so to protect and preserve it for the future, using only what we really
need out of it and always bearing in mind the planet and other species’ needs.
It may seem quite difficult to appreciate what the preservation of the planet’s
biodiversity is really worth for mankind. The benefits deriving from substances
which are located in the tropical rainforest, for instance, could not be known today,
but in some years from now could prove to be fundamental, hypothetically, to cure
certain diseases or to solve different sets of problems.
More complex biodiversity means a wider level of answers which can be given in
any situation: that is, the higher the level of resilience8
.
Thus the wide use of standardisation and patents in reference to biodiversity-
related issues, for instance, seem the opposite of what could be enhanced if we would
like to allow our planet to reach the highest possible level of resilience, as Shiva
claims9
.
At the same time a constant and radical change of the economic paradigm could
be favoured among researchers, economic and financial lobbies, entrepreneurs.
In such sector the battle of paradigm could be faster and less harsh, and its effects
a little less significant and long-lasting than those obtained in the field of culture, for
a cultural belief might usually prove stronger than an economic one.
A longer term perspective in regard to the economic paradigm could then be taken
into account by scholars, economists and politicians. The so called advantages from
7
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/10/101027-science-space-universe-end-of-time-
multiverse-inflation/
8
In ecology, resilience is the capacity of an ecosystem to respond to a perturbation or disturbance by
resisting damage and recovering quickly. Such perturbations and disturbances can include stochastic
events such as fires, flooding, windstorms, insect population explosions, and human activities such as
deforestation and the introduction of exotic plant or animal species. Refer to
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1919092/ecological-resilience
9
Refer to Shiva, Vandana (2004) Water Wars: Privatisation, Pollution and Profit South End / Le
Guerre dell'Acqua Feltrinelli, (2009) Soil Not Oil: Environmental Justice In a Time of Climate Crisis
South End / Ritorno alla Terra – La Fine dell'Ecoimperialismo Fazi and (2011) Earth Democracy:
Justice, Sustainability and Peace Zed Books / Il Bene Comune della Terra Feltrinelli, p. 9-10

28. 28
250 years of industrial revolution have been fast and significant if one would look up
any history or economic book.
To calculate the indirect costs within ourselves seems a key issue. One might
become convinced of the fact that the hidden costs behind each decision or action
taken should be carefully taken into account, both by individuals and society.
In economics, a decision is usually implemented when the costs of it are lower
than the revenues from it. The key point here seems to be represented by the fact
that society, especially the Western one, could stop thinking in economic terms about
all aspects of life.
There exist, however, many examples and actions which have been taken
regardless of the real and thorough economic effects they generated. Industrial
revolution, nuclear power, consumerism, globalisation: the costs generated by them
could have maybe been calculated not only by focusing on the monetary aspect.
Money has been created by man: the key point here seems to be represented by
the fact that the negative effects of each action, could be valued according to the
effects which the action yields toward inorganic elements, plants, animals or human
beings, in cultural, social, economic and juridical terms.
As well as the cultural aspect, in the long term, all of the above cited examples
seem to have demanded a heavy tribute, even in economic terms, sometimes maybe
higher than the gain which seemed they might produce in the short term. In
macroeconomics, the short term lasts five years, the medium one ten, the long one
fifty and the very long one up to seventy-five to one hundred. This indicates that
even the very long period is nothing if compared to the time span of the planet, in
environmental terms and in regard to aspects connected to organic and inorganic
elements belonging to the biosphere.
The political aspect seems a dimension in which actions and changes could be
faster and easier implemented than in the cultural and economic spheres. The time
span of a politician is usually five years at the local level. It could go up to thirty for
those who spend a life in the national political system. However, politicians seem to
sometimes act as a tool in the hands of the economic power, which is often the real
policy maker also in reference to all social and environmental issues. Politicians
may appear mere executors employed by economic and financial lobbies: they
seldom simply implement ideologies and programs which had already been decided
for them.

29. 29
To change a law within the parliament or a city council, however, is much easier
and faster than to change the cultural and economic pillars on which a society is
based on.
It may prove easier to modify an issue which is not of cultural or economic nature,
for the fact that such aspects belong to the first and second level of importance of the
paradigms on which the model depicted above is based on.
Legislation is the means through which political action is implemented. An
institution or a law could need less than five years to be changed. Obviously enough,
on the other side the effects of such change could be shallower and less relevant than
those achieved within the cultural or economic dimension.
Since the biosphere is composed by, as well as society, inorganic elements, as
well as plants and animals, in reference to the cultural and economic dimensions. I
seems that also the political and juridical ones could take into account these subjects
and their needs and rights.
On the contrary, it seems that politics and legislation have as culture and
economics given more and more importance and attention to humans, at the price of
leaving the rest of the biosphere behind.
References:
- Bachofen, Johann (2009) Il Matriarcato – Storia e Mito Tra Oriente e
Occidente Marinotti

30. 30
- Earth’s Life
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/10/101027-science-space-
universe-end-of-time-multiverse-inflation
- Ecological Resilience
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1919092/ecological-resilience
- Gimbutas, Maria (2008) The Language of the Goddess: Unearthing the
Hidden Symbols of Western Civilisation Harper / Il Linguaggio della Dea
Venexia
- Patriarchy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriarchy#History
- Pusceddu, Maria (2010) Gioco di Specchi – Riflessioni Tra Natura e Psiche
Persiani
- Shiva, Vandana
(2011) Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainability and Peace Zed Books / Il
Bene Comune della Terra Feltrinelli
(2009) Soil Not Oil: Environmental Justice In a Time of Climate Crisis
South End / Ritorno alla Terra – La Fine dell'Ecoimperialismo Fazi
(2004) Water Wars: Privatisation, Pollution and Profit South End / Le
Guerre dell'Acqua Feltrinelli
- United Nations
http://www.un.org/geninfo/bp/enviro.html
http://www.uncsd2012.org/objectiveandthemes.html

31. 31
PART I - CULTURE
1. THE ENVIRONMENT’S CULTURAL PARADIGM
Preface
It may seem fundamental to start enquiry the environment from a philosophical point
of view in terms of culture. Culture may represent one of the most important
paradigms, in that it seems to constitute the basis for all philosophical speculations
for any issue. Thus the importance of an investigation and analysis of different
cultural aspects, especially in regard to the environmental issue.
The Area of Research
An overview on different environmental philosophical schools of thought is
presented to describe how different paradigms perceive the environmental issue.
The theory of emotional affinity toward nature is described, in order to understand
how nature influences man at the deepest level in the psychological and emotional
aspects, and how this directly determines how different societies relate in
differentiated ways toward the place where they live. Deep ecology, Naess’
environmental philosophy, is described as it seems a relevant paradigm of conceiving

32. 32
life in order to in general analyse and manage the relation between man and the
environment.
Different environmental paradigms related to several civilisations are also
investigated, since cultural differences among cultures also seem to imply a different
conception of the world and the way people behave toward it. In this regard, what
may be referred to as shallow ecology appears to represent, within worse scenarios, a
useful answer to ecological problems, even though the deep ecological vision still
appears more preferable.
Cultures of scale, a concept derived from the economies of scale are described and
analysed as an hypothetic approach to several issues.
Disciplinary Cultural and Scientific Objectives of the Research
The importance of the cultural paradigm, which seems to be typical only of mankind,
thus yielding that man’s thought and actions depend primarily on the set of his
culture’s principles and values is highlighted. Depending on his culture, it is
believed, man will accordingly behave toward nature.
It is argued that the deep ecological paradigm could represent a meaningful
cultural justification for an improvement and development of the juridical sphere,
since usually legal issues derive from cultural and social ones.
Objective data show the negative approach the dominating culture is today
enhancing toward the environment. Since the dominating society is the Western one,
it is pointed out that it might prove useful to focus on its cultural, social, economic
and political characteristics. It is argued that revolutions within society and the
environment might in fact be caused by imbalances within them.
To tackle several environmental and social issues a decrease in the number of
people who adopt a Western style or a shift away from such a culture may seem
advisable. Changes in the cultural paradigm, it is claimed, are more important,
however, than technological ones for the long term impact they might produce. Thus
a better cooperation within peoples in cultural terms rather than scientific or
technological ones seems preferable.
Cultures of scale may prove a typical way of how nature and culture work and
might therefore be more widely adopted as a model from which to base decisions at

33. 33
the different cultural, economic and political level. Activation costs in both the
cultural and environmental sphere seem in fact to arise.
It is pointed out that at the psychological level, if a person renounces to some of
his own requests in favour of others’ ones, the result of giving up a little selfishness
may prove a greater outcome consisting in the better level of living present within
society and the environment as a whole.
Work Phases
The investigation of the cultural aspects which determine man’s approach with the
environmental issues have been analysed in the following order:
The main environmental philosophies
The deep ecological philosophy and the theory of affinity toward nature
How the dominating cultural paradigm relates with the environment
Why culture seems more important than technology in determining the way
civilisations behave
The relation between the economies of scale model and the environment
The psychological aspect of nature
The ecobiopsychological paradigm
Disciplinary Advancements and Expected Results
It is argued that to reduce the negative approach the dominating culture (namely the
Western one) has in regard to the environment, both the cultural and scientific
spheres ought to be investigated. Perhaps more investigation in specific issues
related to culture and science may prove a useful solution in regard to current
problems society and the planet are now facing.
Also the fact that man is the subject within the biosphere that is most able to
modify the environment he lives in leaves perhaps open questions in regard to how
he is willing to act in the future, both in reference to social and environmental issues.
From a psychological point of view, it is believed that the relation man entertains
with the environment often is a result of the relation he has with himself.

34. 34
Psychology seems therefore a fundamental tool, a niche within the cultural paradigm,
useful to solve inner conflicts which often show up in the material world. The
integration of conscious’ and unconscious’ requests for man is investigated within
analytical psychology. The battle between materialistic and inner issues might
derive from man’s psychological approach. In this sense the ecobiopsychological
paradigm, one of the most recent branches of analytical psychology, might be more
deeply examined and developed.
Landscape, being perceived as a product of the interaction between cultural and
ecological elements might prove a paradigmatic model to further investigate the
relation between man and the environment.
The Main Sources For the Research
The main sources for the research are constituted by Naess, Dalla Casa, Pagano,
Schweitzer for the investigation of the different environmental philosophies, while
Bonnes, Carrus and Passafaro developed the analysis of environmental psychology
as well as Costa. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s
Man and the Biosphere Programme, Convention of Biological Diversity and World
Heritage Convention were sources for the analysis of the concept of reserve of the
biosphere and relevant international laws concerning biological diversity and world
heritage. The Global Footprint Network was consulted to acknowledge the concept
of environmental footprint. D’Angelo was the main reference for landscape
philosophy and Pusceddu and the Italian Ecobiopsychology Association the main
ones for what the ecobiopsychological analysis is concerned.