GEOG 312 Lecture 5: Knowledge Systems & Philosophies

• GEOG 312: Lecture 5 covers evolving knowledge systems, environmental philosophies, and culture. Office hours are by appointment; contact [email protected] to book. Assignment 1 is due Thursday, February 13th, 2025, and Assignment 2 is available on myClass and due February 27th, 2025.

Midterm Review

• The in-class midterm is worth 30% 10% of the grade is for one long-answer response with three question options
• 10% of the grade is for five short-answer responses choose from eight questions
• 10% of the grade is multiple-choice.
• Practice questions in a Jeopardy-style format are coming next week.

Syllabus Revisions

• Some dates have changed to accommodate guest speakers' schedules.
• Guest Speakers include: Sasha Tuttle, Eva Janzen, Megan Roxby, and Alex Glaros.
• There will be no class field trip due to the number of guest speakers.
• Sasha Tuttle is a Conservation Officer with Se:math First Nation.
• Eva Janzen is a Senior Environmental Technician with Se:math First Nation.
• Megan Roxby is an SFU Master's student working on the Skagit Headwaters project.
• Alex Glaros is a Postdoctoral Fellow and Lead Researcher at UFV working on agricultural research projects.

Revisiting Last Class: People and Places

• Sense of Place is a comfortable familiarity created in spaces by cultural elements
• This often increases the desirability of a space.
• Topophilia leads to the love of certain places.
• Factors influencing place attachment include physical environment, natural features, cultural/historical significance, personal/social experiences, emotional/psychological connections, and community and social networks.
• Methods of constructing place include cartographic representations (maps), GIS, artistic and cultural depictions, qualitative methods (interviews, oral history, memories), pictures, and digital media (virtual reality).
• Places are dynamic and constantly changing due to social, economic, cultural, environmental, and political forces.
• Sumas Lake is presented as a case study.
• Integrating nature into urban places includes using plants/rooftop gardens/vertical agriculture, also known as 'biophilic design'.
• Integrating nature in buildings correlates with a higher sense of place and more positive connections.

Environmental Philosophies and Ethics

• The disproportionate impacts of environmental problems can affect different groups/generations of people, species, and non-living systems (water, soil, etc.)

Environmental Philosophy

• Examines the relationship between humans and the natural environment.
• Includes ecomodernism, biocentrism/ecocentrism, deep ecology, and Indigenous philosophies.

Ethics

• Involves considering factors beyond self-interest, such as distant people, future generations, non-human species, and the land/water.
• Anthropocentrism considers humankind as most important.

Protection of Nature/Wildlife

• Nature/wildlife are protected for use (instrumental values), protection of itself(intrinsic values), and because we are related (relational values like that of Innu Peoples who are related to caribou in the Arctic Circle).
• Instrumental values include direct benefits (drinking water), indirect benefits (wetland filtration), bequest (future generations), existence, and option (future use), with people demonstrating willingness to pay.
• Intrinsic value includes nature/biodiversity and can be conserved because it just is.
• Animals can feel pleasure/pain so should receive moral consideration, also all living things are morally worthy.
• Relational value is determined by human interaction with nature
• Living things are connected and many Indigenous origin stories surround the kinship between humans, animals, and plants.

Environmental Philosophies

Ecomodernism

• Belief that technological progress and innovation can minimize environmental impacts and allow humans to flourish.
• This includes green energy, geoengineering, precision agriculture, nuclear energy, etc.
• Calls for decoupling human development and advocates for reducing land use while maintaining economic growth.
• Suggests urbanization and efficiency to reduce cities' environmental impact.
• Believes that economic/technological advancements drive sustainability
• Human progress and environmental sustainability are ultimately compatible.
• Balances economic development with sustainability and supports human innovation.
• There are practical,scalable solutions with reduced land-use impacts.
• Critiques include over-reliance on unproven technologies, ignoring ethical/systemic causes, and for having an exploitative view of nature
• It assumes technological solutions will be equitably distributed.

Biocentrism/Ecocentrism

• Biocentrism says that all beings possess an inherent value and deserve attention.
• All life has intrinsic worth
• This opposes anthropocentric views
• It supports wildlife protection, habitat preservation, and ethical treatment of animals.
• Conflict can arise ethically when prioritizing species equally between predators (wolves) and prey (caribou).
• Ecocentrism extends moral consideration beyond organisms to entire ecosystems which emphasizes the interconnectedness of life,land, water, and non-living elements.
• The focus is on ecosystem health, conservation efforts, Aldo Leopold's Land Ethic, holistic strategies, and long-term environmental management.
• Aldo Leopold's Land Ethic includes that boundaries of moral consideration include soils, waters, plants, animals, and entire ecosystems.
• Humans should be apart of the broader ecological community vs conquerors of it and have a very ecocentric perspective of intrinsic value.
• There can be issues when balancing competing species needs, ethical dilemmas (controlling species), and implementation is complex in human-dominated landscapes.
• Some assign legal personhood rights to non-living things like rivers.

Deep Ecology

• Emphasizes the intrinsic value and dependence of all life independent of human needs
• Arne Naess developed deep ecology in the 1970s, and advocates deep questioning of society's connection to the natural world.
• Key principles are that living things have intrinsic worth, humans are not superior, there need to be drastic reductions in consumption, encouragement of biospheric egalitarianism, and advocacy for radical changes.
• There is a challenge to human-centered thinking, encouragement for long-term perspectives, alignment with Indigenous views, and inspiration for local environmental efforts.
• It can be considered idealistic and anti-humanist, difficult to put in action, and contains some problems for localized communities.

Indigenous Philosophies

• Rooted in a holistic/relational understanding of nature that emphasizes the interconnectedness between land, water, and living things
• These philosophies vary across cultures, such as the Inuit, Sami, and Maori.
• Focuses on interconnectedness, reciprocity, indigenous knowledge, sacred responsibilities, non-ownership of land, and long-term sustainability.
• Challenges include colonialism, land dispossession, conflict and industrial interests, and weaving IK into policy.

Readings for Today

• Tim Ingold contrasts Western science and Indigenous views on human vs animal relationships and calls for moving beyond nature/culture dualism.
• An ecology of life means humans are a part of and engaged in shaping their environment.
• Resurgence and Reconciliation explores intertwined ideas of the two in Indigenous-settler relations.
• Borrows says reconciliation should move beyond political agreements to that of a system of relationships by encompassing nature.
• These values and philosophies are important to how we make decisions for strategies,debates, and challenging community perspectives.
• Example is the BC Wolf Cull authorized by helicopter from 2015-2022, which was aimed to reduce caribou populations over ethics.
• In Canada decisions are made through instrumentalist and anthropocentric perspectives.

Environmental Pluralism

• An approach to environmental decision-making and policy development
• This includes perspectives, values and knowledge systems in understanding the issues.
• It helps with complex challenges by fostering social equality and enhancing resilience.

Case Study: Oregon Forest Snail

• Some Indigenous/local communities cannot develop housing because of it's presence
• There is legal protection coming from the Species at Risk Act.
• To solve should you prioritize of the forest snail or need for secure housing?

Next Steps

• Next class addresses the History and Development of Western Knowledge Systems.
• It addresses Diverse Indigenous/local knowledge systems around the world.
• There are Research Methods which include qualitative research/sciences.
• The next class reading includes: Indigenous Research Methodologies (Margaret Kovach) and Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods (Bhangu et al.).
• Assignment 1 (5%) Research Paper Outline is due February 13, 2025, before midnight.