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Ecocentrism vs. technocentrism
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The conflicting environmental philosophies of action |
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There are competing definitions of environmentalism just as there has been disagreement to what constitutes the environment. Environmentalism is also defined as a social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the state of the environment, apart from being a broad philosophy. The part of this movement that seeks to influence the political process by lobbying, activism, and education in order to protect natural resources and ecosystems is the environmental movement which is centred on ecology, health, and human rights.
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Considering the activist aspect but also merely the disposition to take action or effectuate change that characterises the movement, environmentalism could be regarded as a philosophy of action providing the required tools to preserve the health and sustainability of the environment.¹ |
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Where there is action involved however, even if the final goal is the same, rarely do opinions coincide as ideologies, culture, ethics, knowledge, technology, interests may differ and conflict occurs. There are two broad and distinct ideologies within environmentalism that are commonly recognised, the technocentric and ecocentric approaches to environmental concerns (T. O'Riordan, -1976). | |
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