Blog #6

While reading the section, The Question of Ecological Strategies, I was struck by Kohak's discussion of life and the biosphere as something good but flawed by human choice, and his hinting to the responsibility of ecology to discover the roots of those human choices that so endanger the wilderness. Kohak then describes all the questions that belabor many of the different theories of ecology: how this one compares to the other, what shifts in attitude bring two theories in conflict, how two theories agree - and then points to the "flannel ecologists," those who do not worry about all the details but reach right to the source, "Practical environmentalists never worried about that. They simply rolled up the sleeves of their flannel shirts and set to work...seeking with enthusiasm and sacrifice to repair the damage humans cause to nature" (Kohak, 108).

Next, Kohak discusses Arne Naess and deep ecology. Naess and his further development of deep ecology(it had been discussed and developed for years before Naess) draws a line between ecological attitudes and strategies: "shallow ecology" deals with "...only the results of human activites and not with the basic orientation which brought on the crisis" (Kohak, 110). To Naess, deep ecology focused on "...an ecological philosophy which would look deeply at the civilizational posture which leads to the ecological threat" (Kohak, 110). This viewpoint of deep ecology echoes the point that Kohak made early in the reading. Deep ecology, along with carrying an introspective viewpoint, must also agree with a certain number of principles that seem to fall into line with many of the other ecological theories discussed before (they are listed on pages 111-112). For one to reach these viewpoints and to discover their inner oneness with the world (which will help one to tackle the problem within oneself that causes their humanity to attack the earth), Naess calls on yoga. By engaging in yoga, one can connect/ harmonize with the being of the earth around them and recognize that one is continuous with the world - to hurt the world is to hurt one's self. Naess argues that through self realization, one can transcend their very being and realize that respecting the earth is really respecting one's self.

Overall, I found this sixth reading very heard to understand. Before this section, Kohak used many concrete examples and metaphors to help the reader understand exactly what each ecological viewpoint had at its very center. With his discussion on Naess and his deep ecology, I feel that Kohak used many terms and lots of philosophical writings that were quite hard to understand and hindered my ability to grasp the heart of the reading.