From Ecology to Ecosophy

For the last four decades we notice a significant change in the direction of Deep environmentalism: metaphysical or ontological issues are gradually drawing more attention than the normative ones. At its initial stage, it was satisfied with suggesting norms to guide our interaction with the Nature. Later it is realised that the isolated ethical concerns about the environment will not do, unless and until they are supplemented by the underlying ontological concerns, or in other words, by some 'ecosophy'. By 'ecosophy' Naess refers to any integrated philosophy of Nature-an 'earth-wisdom'-of ecological harmony that contains both norms, rules, postulates, value-priority announcements and hypotheses concerning states-of-affairs in our universe, inspired by ecology and Deep Ecology movement. Naess finds it important 'to move from ethics to ontology and back' in his philosophy of environmentalism. For an adequate philosophy of ecology we must have a Self-realisation or an Identification with the whole of Nature, in addition to admitting its intrinsic or inherent value.