Ecophilosophical and Ecopsychological Aspects of Sustainable Consumption and Lifestyle

Mikołaj Niedek

doi:10.21697/seb.2022.05

Published: 2022-04-14

Vol. 20 No. 1 (2022)

Ecophilosophical and Ecopsychological Aspects of Sustainable Consumption and Lifestyle

Mikołaj Niedek

Studia Ecologiae et Bioethicae

Section: Articles

https://doi.org/10.21697/seb.2022.05

Abstract

The aim of the article is to outline the philosophical and psychological dimensions of a sustainable lifestyle based on responsible consumption. In the author’s opinion, moderate consumption and an ecologically balanced way of living should, for their durability, have a broader mental and worldview background. The article will present and compare the concepts of the eco-philosophy of Henryk Skolimowski and the ecopsychology of Theodore Roszak in terms of cognitive, ideological, and axiological propositions of these concepts that can form the motivating basis for responsible living on Earth. In the author’s opinion, apart from the economic dimension, the adoption of ecological ethics and of ecological sensitivity is crucial for the permanent rooting of sustainable consumption patterns in people's attitudes. Ecophilosophical and ecopsychological concepts can significantly help in this, contributing to human sensitivity to environmental issues related to the contemporary ecological crisis. The ecophilosophical and ecopsychological approach, in the author’s opinion, need each other because they use complementary perspectives and methods of building ecological awareness. In the process of environmental education and shaping sustainable life attitudes, they are equally necessary for the effectiveness of achieving the goals of education for sustainable development and promoting an environmentally responsible lifestyle in society.

Keywords:

sustainable consumption, sustainable lifestyle, ecophilosophy, ecopsychology, eco-ethics, frugalism, Henryk Skolimowski, Theodore Roszak, eco-philosophy, environmental philosophy

Download files

PDF

Citation rules

Niedek, M. (2022). Ecophilosophical and Ecopsychological Aspects of Sustainable Consumption and Lifestyle. Studia Ecologiae Et Bioethicae, 20(1), 25–37. https://doi.org/10.21697/seb.2022.05

Cited by / Share

Licence

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

References

Bańka, Augustyn. 2002. Społeczna psychologia środowiskowa. [Social environmental psychology] Warszawa: Scholar.
Buzzell, Linda. 2009. “Asking different questions: Therapy for the human animal.” In Ecotherapy: Healing with nature in mind, edited by Linda Buzzell, 46-54. New York: Haworth Press.
Clinebell, Howard. 1996. Ecotherapy. Healing Ourselves, Healing the Earth. New York: Haworth Press.
Cohen, Maurie J. 2019. “Introduction to the Special Issue: Innovative Perspectives on Systems of Sustainable Consumption and Production.” Sustainability. Science, Practice and Policy 15(1): 104-110.
Devall, Bill, and Georg Sessions. 1985. Deep Ecology. Living as if nature mattered. Salt Lake City: Peregrine Smith.
Fisher, Andy. 2002. Radical Ecopsychology. Psychology in the Service of Life. Albany: Sunny Press.
Fiut, Ignacy S. 2009. “The idea of Sustainable Development in the Perspective of Henryk Skolimowski’s Philosophy.” Problems of Sustainable Development 2: 25-48.
Glendinning, Chellis. 1995. “Technology, Trauma, and the Wild.” In Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth/Healing the Mind, edited by Theodore Roszak, Mary E. Gomes, and Allen D. Kanner, 41-54. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books.
Gomes, Mary E., and Allen D. Kanner. 1995. “The Rape of the Well-Maidens: Feminist Psychology and the Environmental Crisis.” In Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth/Healing the Mind, edited by Theodore Roszak, Mary E. Gomes, and Allen D. Kanner, 111-121. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books.
Greenway, Robert. 1995. “The Wilderness Effect and Ecopsychology.” In Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth/Healing the Mind, edited by Theodore Roszak, Mary E. Gomes, and Allen D. Kanner, 122-135. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books.
Jensen, Mikael. 2007. “Defining lifestyle.” Environmental Sciences 4:(2): 63-73.
Kiełczewski, Dariusz, Felicjan Bylok, Anna Dąbrowska, Mirosława Janoś-Kresło, and Irena Ozimek. 2017. “Consumers’ Competences as a Stimulant of Sustainable Consumption.” Folia Oeconomica Stetinensia 20(2): 97-114.
Kiełczewski, Dariusz. 2001. Ekologia społeczna. [Social ecology]. Białystok: Wydawnictwo Ekonomia i Środowisko.
Kiełczewski, Dariusz. 2004. Konsumpcja a perspektywy trwałego i zrównoważonego rozwoju. [Consumption and the prospects of sustainable development]. Białystok: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu w Białymstoku.
Kiełczewski, Dariusz. 2007. “Struktura pojęcia konsumpcji zrównoważonej.” [Structure of the concept of sustainable consumption]. Ekonomia i Środowisko 2(32): 37-50.
Korpikiewicz, Honorata. 2020. Wszechświat Twoim Domem. Kosmoekologia. [The universe is your home. Cosmoecology]. Poznań: Wydawnictwo Nauk Społecznych i Humanistycznych UAM.
Lubowiecki-Vikuk, Adrian, Anna Dąbrowska, and Aleksandra Machnik. 2021. “Responsible consumer and lifestyle: Sustainability insights.” Sustainable Production and Consumption 25: 91-101.
Metzner, Ralph. 1999. Green Psychology. Transforming our Relationship to the Earth. Rochester: Park Street Press.
Naess, Arne.1992. Rozmowy. [Conversations]. Bielsko-Biała: Pracownia na Rzecz Wszystkich Istot.
Neale, Agata. 2015. “Zrównoważona Konsumpcja. Źródła koncepcji i jej zastosowanie.” [Sustainable consumption. Sources of concept and implementation]. Prace Geograficzne 141: 141-158.
Niedek, Mikołaj, and Karol Krajewski. 2021. “Frugalizm w kontekście ekonomicznych i aksjologicznych uwarunkowań zrównoważonego wzorca konsumpcji.” [Frugalism in the context of economic and axiological determinants of a sustainable pattern of consumption]. In Antropologiczne i przyrodnicze aspekty konsumpcji nadmiaru i umiaru, [Anthropological and natural aspects of consumption of excess and moderation], edited by Ryszard F. Sadowski, Agata Kosieradzka-Federczyk, and Agnieszka Klimska, 40-58. Warszawa: Krajowa Szkoła Administracji Publicznej.
Niedek, Mikołaj. 2009. Determinanty rozwoju partnerstwa międzysektorowego na rzecz równoważenia wzorców konsumpcji i produkcji [Determinants of the development of cross-sector partnership for the sustainability of consumption and production patterns]. Doctoral dissertation. University of Bialystok, Faculty of Economics and Management.
Roszak, Theodore, Mary E. Gomes, and Allen D. Kanner (eds). 1995. Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth/Healing the Mind. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books.
Scott, Brian A., Elise L. Amel, Susan M. Koger, and Christie M. Manning. 2021. Psychology for Sustainability. New York: Routledge.
Shepard, Paul. 1998. Nature and Madness. Athens: University of Georgia Press.
Skolimowski, Henryk. 1974. Ecological Humanism. Lewes: Gryphon Press.
Skolimowski, Henryk. 1992. Living Philosophy. Eco-Philosophy as a Tree of Life. New York: Arkana.
Skolimowski, Henryk. 1994. The Participatory Mind. A new theory of knowledge and of the universe. London: Arkana Penguin Books.
Skolimowski, Henryk. 1999. Wizje nowego Millenium. [Visions of the new millennium] Kraków: Wydawnictwo EJB.
Skubała, Piotr, and Ryszard Kulik. 2021. Dlaczego brak nam umiaru w eksploatacji zasobów planety? [Why do we lack moderation in the exploitation of the planet’s resources?]. In Antropologiczne i przyrodnicze aspekty konsumpcji nadmiaru i umiaru, [Anthropological and natural aspects of consumption of excess and moderation], edited by Ryszard F. Sadowski, Agata Kosieradzka-Federczyk, and Agnieszka Klimska, 5-19. Warszawa: Krajowa Szkoła Administracji Publicznej.
Waloszczyk, Konrad. 1996. Kryzys ekologiczny w świetle ekofilozofii. [Ecological crisis in the light of ecophilosophy]. Łódź: Wydawnictwo Politechniki Łódzkiej. Google Scholar