Ecosophy, also ecophilosophy, is a neologism made by contracting the phrase ecological philosophy. It refers to philosophies which have a predominant ecocentric or biocentric perspective such as ecofeminism, social ecology, and deep ecology. In linguistics, a neologism refers to a recently created (or coined) word, phrase or usage which can sometimes be attributed to a specific individual, publication, period or event. ... Philosophy (from the Greek words philos and sophia meaning love of wisdom) is understood in different ways historically and by different philosophers. ... Ecocentrism or physiocentrism is a synonym for biocentrism, but differs in that it does not principally distinguish between living and non living forms of nature. ... Biocentrism is the belief that all life, or even the whole universe living or otherwise taken as a whole, is equally valid and humanity is not the center of existence. ... Ecofeminism is a biocentric environmental movement with cultural and social concerns. ... Social Ecology is a coherent radical critique of current social, political, and anti-ecological trends. ... The phrase deep ecology was introduced by the Norwegian philosopher Arne Næss in 1973. ...

Félix Guattari

Ecosophy also refers to a field of practice introduced by psychoanalyst and militant Félix Guattari in 1992 as a response to perceived shortcomings in the science of ecology. Psychoanalysis is the revelation of unconscious relations, in a systematic way through an associative process. ... The word militant can refer to any individual engaged in warfare, a fight, combat, or generally serving as a soldier. ... Pierre-Félix Guattari (1930 - 1992) was a French pioneer of institutional psychotherapy, as well as the founder of both Schizoanalysis and the science of Ecosophy. ... 1992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ecology is sometimes used as an incorrect synonym for the natural environment. ...

Guattari holds that ecology generally obscures the complexity of the relationship between humans and their environment; he envisions ecosophy as a new field with a more holistic approach to such study. In this conception, he considers ecosophy as a science of ecosystems, of which he claims there are mental ecosystems, environmental ecosystems, and social ecosystems; that is, human subjectivity, the environment, and social relations, all of which are intimately interconnected. Guattari writes: Holism (from holon, a Greek word meaning entity) is the idea that the properties of a system cannot be determined or explained by the sum of its components alone. ... In ecology, an ecosystem is a naturally occurring assemblage of organisms (plant, animal and other living organisms—also referred to as a biotic community or biocoenosis) living together with their environment (or biotope), functioning as a unit of sorts. ...

"Without modifications to the social and material environment, there can be no change in mentalities. Here, we are in the presence of a circle that leads me to postulate the necessity of founding an "ecosophy" that would link environmental ecology to social ecology and to mental ecology." (Guattari)

References

• Guattari, Félix (2000) The Three Ecologies. Trans. Ian Pindar & Paul Sutton, London & New Brunwick, NJ: The Athlone Press.

See also

• Deep ecology