permaculture

[John Schinnerer <eco_living@yahoo.com>]

Aloha,

> as an exercise, I challenge you to reformulate
> the subject line without using any form of 'to
> be'. 

"What constitutes permaculture?"

...but my take is similar to whomever (Jeff?) posted along the lines of
"it's a process..." - that's why I ask "what do you want?" as an
invitation for people to start reflecting on their own process (unless
of course they just say "a new TV!").

> "This question "what is permaclture" sometimes
> carries with it the assumption that there is one
> common definition or a "right" definition."

IMO the assumption arises in the mind of the hearer (and perhaps the
asker, but not necessarily both or either).  The question "carries"
nothing.

> To which John replied:
> > And I add, "'deity-of-your-choice-or-none-at-
> > all' forbid it becomes one!"
> 
> John, would you render this in simpler language.
> I can't decipher it.

IMO, "Dog forbid permaculture becomes a discipline."

> If in fact nothing lies outside the domain of
> permaculture, it would have as little use as the
> word 'spirituality'--it means everything, so it
> means nothing. I do not, however, believe this of
> our word.

All words "mean" whatever we each choose to have them mean to us, as
much or as little.

> One major difference between pc and conventional
> inter/disciplines can be observed in the
> accessibility of pc. Without training and with
> only a modicum of resources, one can achieve
> excellence in pc and its variants through a
> patient process of observation; but in the
> academics, excellence demands strong familiarity
> with prior techniques and specialized verbal
> formulations.

...which can be acquired through patient observation; and, I see plenty
of "prior techniques and specialized verbal formulations" in PC.  Looks
like a straw man difference to me.


=====
John Schinnerer, MA
--------------------
- Eco-Living -
Cultural & Ecological Designing
Food - Shelter - Community
john@eco-living.net
http://eco-living.net

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