Speaking and Listening.rtf (76.18 kB)
Speaking and listening to nature: ethics within ecology
journal contribution
posted on 2023-08-30, 14:34 authored by Nigel CooperOne context for the papers arising from INTECOL VII in this special issue is the debate over the social construction of science. Some fear that advocates for the social or cultural construction of ecology will undermine attempts to defend nature. But resources are made available in a mediating position of social ‘construal’, particularly alerting ecologists to the social and ethical dimensions of the conducting of their work. When speaking, ecologists will use living and dead metaphors and these carry connotations which in turn raise ethical questions. Different political interest groups may use a word like biodiversity for different ethical purposes. The position of any one speaker is limited, and so greater knowledge is achieved if scientists listen to the situated knowledges of other, diverse people. Even Nature herself, or creatures, may have aspects of personhood. The good ecologist will listen with empathy as a naturalist to what is being said, giving Nature the respect she deserves. These are some of the ethical implications in the very doing of ecology.
History
Refereed
- Yes
Volume
9Issue number
8Page range
1009-1027Publication title
Biodiversity and ConservationISSN
1572-9710External DOI
Publisher
SpringerFile version
- Accepted version
Language
- eng
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Legacy posted date
2016-12-08Legacy creation date
2016-12-08Legacy Faculty/School/Department
ARCHIVED Faculty of Science & Technology (until September 2018)Usage metrics
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