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  • From: Scott Pittman <scott@permaculture.org>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@mailman1.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Permaculture as Deep Ecology
  • Date: Tue, 16 May 2017 17:34:56 -0600

It's a little amazing that this is coming up at this time when I am wrestling in the mud with my book "Dharma of Permaculture". I believe that permaculture lays out all of the premises for developing a deep ecology and the lure of the "stuff" paradigm prevents most of us from entering the world as a keystone species and - and as a caretaker or the Earth and its ecotomes.

I have gone back to the writings of Dolores LaChapelle; her books "Earth Wisdom" and "Sacred Land, Sacred Sex" are brilliant expositions of the U.S. wing of the deep ecology movement in the 70's. I am also spending a lot of time in the Sanskrit texts of various Yogis who also have a lot to say about we should manifest in our Earthly body.

I am avoiding the possibility that this task may be too deep and complex for me because it has to be said and written before we destroy ourselves and many of the living things that give us such joy, when we are open to them.

For me David Holmgren's book "Permaculture - Principals and Pathways Beyond Sustainability" is the best road map for reaching an understanding of our own dharma as well as the dharma of our universe. If we combine these principals with the ethics of permaculture and then live it I believe we become a part of that deep ecology vision articulated by the Arne Naese the Norwegian philosopher. Arne Naese stated that we can never reach self realization until we acknowledge and grant self realization to all the beings in this universe.

This is heady stuff for me and I find it is very seldom that I get a chance to engage at this level with other permaculture folks.

Scott


On 5/15/2017 10:28 PM, Lawrence London wrote:
I found a prntout of one message posrted in a thread to the
alt.permaculture newsgroup in October, 2000 (formed by Christer Ellingsen,
Norway,
also the artist who designed the logo for the Norwegian Permaculture
Association [one of best works of "Eco" art in existence - I wish I had a
digital copy of it],
and I).

Someone said that deep ecology might be a radical form of ecology that
insists on human beings subordinating their interests to those of the
planet and the biosphere
and that this is a challenge against anthropocentricity - man centered
actions should start from the Earth's needs rather than managerial ecology.
He goes on to say that
from this description Permaculture is very human centered so can never be
included as a deep ecological movement.

-
What a topic for discussion considering some we have had in the past,
particularly input from Steve Hart. I think Steve would say that
Permaculture is a deep Ecological movement. Scott, what do you think?

Not sure I was really "with it" at the time but my reply was this:

That's the duality of Nature, and permaculture which seeks to mirror
natural systems and which is inextricably bonded with the land and all
lifeforms thereon.
Humans coexist and interact with the natural systems within their local
ecology. You are with IT, IT is with you; you move, it moves. You become
more involved with the ecology of your immediate surroundings as you become
more aware of what it is (as you discover its features, inhabitants,
relationships, inputs-outputs, needs, sensitivities, effects on adjoining
ecosystems), how it works and how you can best coexist with it.
Permaculture is not just human-centered, it is a design science that
empowers those who embrace its window on Nature (view Nature through the
lens of Permaculture) to realize new realms of options for survival.

-
Comments welcome.

LL



--
Best regards, Scott Pittman Director Permaculture Institute




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