Ecology as a Perspective

Ecology as a perspective refers to the awareness of the processes that link organism and place. Indeed, these interconnections are seen as a general principle of life. It is a long view of the patterns of nature and life that transcends historical time and the conceptual bounds of other humane studies.

The ecological perspective has a duality of views, integrity and relatedness. Integrity views the self as a center of organization, influencing and being influenced by personal contacts with the surrounding world. Relatedness views the self as defined by those relationships themselves. It extends the self beyond boundaries affirming the Earth's metabolism as our own, or conversely our own as part of it. (Eblen and Eblen, 1994, p. 169)

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Joshua Bills jdb5@cec.wustl.edu Last updated 11/13/94.