---
title: "Philosophy of ecology"
chunk: 2/3
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_ecology"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:00:32.458411+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

=== Contemporary ecology ===
Defining contemporary ecology requires looking at certain fundamental principles, namely principles of system and evolution. System entails understanding the processes, of which interconnected sections establish a holistic identity, not separated or predictable from their components. Evolution results from the ‘generation of variety’ as a means to produce change. Certain entities that interact with their environments create evolution through survival, and it is the production of changes that shape ecological systems. This evolutionary process is central to ecology and biology.
There are three main concerns that ecologists generally concur with: naturalism, scientific realism, and the comprehensive scope of ecology.
Philosopher Frederick Ferre defines two different primary meanings for nature in Being and Value: Toward a Constructive Postmodern Metaphysics (1996). The first definition does not consider nature as 'artifacts of human manipulation’, and nature, in this sense, comprises those not of artificial origins. The second definition establishes natures as those not of supernatural conceptions, which includes artefacts of human manipulation in this case. However, there is confusion of meaning as both connotations are used interchangeably in its application in different contexts by different ecologists.

==== Naturalism ====

There is yet to be a defined explanation of naturalism within philosophy of ecology, however, its current usage connotes the idea that underlines a system containing a reality subsumed by nature, independent of the ‘supernatural’ world or existence. Naturalism, asserts the notion that scientific methodology is sufficient to obtain knowledge about reality. Naturalists who support this perspective view mental, biological, and social operations as physical entities. For example, considering a pebble or a human being, these existences occur concurrently within the same space and time. Applications of these scientific methods remain relevant and sufficient as it explains the spatiotemporal processes that physical entities undergo as spatiotemporal beings.

== Methodology ==

=== Holism vs reductionism ===
The holism-reductionism debate encompasses ontological, methodological and epistemic concerns. Common questions involve examining whether the means to understanding an object is through critical analyses of its constituents (reductionism) or ‘contextualisation’ of its components (holism) to retain phenomenological value. Holists maintain that certain unique properties are attributed to the abiotic or biotic entity, such as an ecosystem, and how these characteristics are not intrinsically applicable to its separate components. Analysis of just the parts are insufficient in obtaining knowledge of the entire unit. On the other spectrum, reductionists argue that these parts are independent of each other, and that knowledge of the components provide understanding of the composite entity. This approach, however, has been criticised, as the entity does not just denote just the unity of its aggregates but rather a synthesis between the whole and its parts.

=== Rationalism vs empiricism ===
Rationalism within scientific ecology such methodologies remain necessary and relevant in their role for establishing ecological theory as a guide. Methodology employed under rationalist approaches became pronounced in the 1920s by Alfred Lotka's (1956) and Vito Volterra's (1926) logistic models that are known as Lotka-Volterra equations. Empiricism establishes the need for observational and empirical testing. An obvious consequence of this paradigm is the presence and usage of pluralistic methodology, although there has yet to be a unifying model adequate for application in ecology, and neither has there yet to establish a pluralistic theory as well.

== Environmental ethics ==

Environmental ethics emerged in the 1970s in response to traditional anthropocentrism. It studies the moral implications between social and environmental interactions, prompted from concerns of environmental degradation, and challenged the ethical positionality of humans. A common belief amongst environmental philosophy is the view that biological entities are morally valuable and independent of human standards. Within this field, there is the shared assumption that environmental issues are prominently anthropogenic, and that this stems from an anthropocentric argument. The basis in rejecting anthropocentrism is to refute the belief that non-human entities are not worthy of value.
A main concern in environmental ethics is anthropogenically induced mass extinction within the biosphere. The attempt to interpret it non-anthropocentrically is vital to the foundations of environmental ethics. Paleontology, for example, details mass extinction as pivotal and a precursor to major radiations. Those with non-anthropocentric views interpret the death of dinosaurs as a preservation of biodiversity and principle to anthropocentric values. As ecology is closely entwined with ethics, understanding environmental approaches require understanding the world, which is the role of ecology and environmental ethics. The main issue is to also incorporate natural entities in its ethical concern, which involves conscious, sentient, living and existing beings.