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  • From: Paul Cereghino <paul.cereghino@comcast.net>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [permaculture] Permaculture as science
  • Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 08:29:20 -0800

I have found that there is a very interesting relationship between permaculture and science (love hate comes to mind). Scientific theories and data are useful is specific situations, and permaculture is strongly informed by theories, axioms and hypotheses that have emerged from scientific practice, but I would say with confidence that permaculture is not science, and while founded on 'colloquialized' axioms transfered from ecological sciences, permaculture practice leans heavily on an intimate, intuition based relationship to land that is not systematic, replicable, or even transferable. Permaculture practice, while developing and redeploying some technologies, hasn't added to any network of scientific theory or advanced a scientifically defensible set of hypotheses except by borrowing and promoting work by scientists in agronomy.... and that is OK. The Third Reich had some great scientists at work too... and science is piss poor and inefficient at working on some kinds of problems.

Furthermore I would suggest that permaculture incorporates an ethical system about 'right relationship' between people and land and the limits of technological fixes. Dick Cheney is focussed on 'getting the job done' too, he just has a different 'job' in mind.

Paul Cereghino

I would also point out that permaculture is science and results
based and belief systems and politics are specifically omitted
from the sphere of permaculture. Permaculture is focused on
"getting the job done".






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