Abstract
The interaction of ecology and the study and application of environmental ethics can be facilitated by understanding the status of the fundamental background assumptions of the science. The classical paradigm of ecology, now superseded, focused on organisms and framed the science in a primarily equilibrium perspective. Steady state, homeostasis, and stability were hallmarks of ecological systems under this worldview. With the benefit of hindsight, the specific assumptions of the equilibrium paradigm are seen to be that (1) ecological systems are materially closed; (2) they are self-regulating; (3) an equilibrium state exists for each system; (4) disturbance is rare or negligible; (5) recovery from any disturbance that does occur is deterministic, and leads to the expected equilibrium state; and (6) humans are external to ecological systems and are a negative force. As the organismal viewpoint gave way to more inclusive theories, such as the ecosystem and landscape ecology, and data sets extended for longer periods of time, it became clear that the equilibrium assumptions did not always hold. The shift in worldview occasioned by new data as well as by conceptual flexibility, can be summarized by a new inclusive or non-equilibrium paradigm. It accepts (1) the material openness of ecological systems; (2) the role of external regulation; (3) the absence or transience of equilibrium states; (4) the commonness and significance of natural and human-caused disturbances; (5) the multiple pathways of system dynamics, and (6) the pervasive involvement of human actors, both local and distant, in ecosystems. Ecological concepts engage technical definitions, technical models, and metaphorical implications that are relevant to their connections with ethics.
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Pickett, S.T.A. (2013). The Flux of Nature: Changing Worldviews and Inclusive Concepts. In: Rozzi, R., Pickett, S., Palmer, C., Armesto, J., Callicott, J. (eds) Linking Ecology and Ethics for a Changing World. Ecology and Ethics, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7470-4_23
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