Ecology as oikology – reflections on science and worldview

Abstract

Despite lending itself to interdisciplinary collaboration, the scientific discipline of ecology is de facto treated as being more within the orbit of the natural sciences, or at least those social sciences that are more quantitatively inclined. Historically, this one-sidedness was aggravated by the mechanistic materialist worldview that dominated the natural sciences from the nineteenth century. In this article, it is argued that the discipline of ecology may be enriched by taking seriously the reality of the oikos, the Greek word for “home”, that lies at the root of the name ecology. Building on this premise, a phenomenological analysis of the experience of home (oikos) is undertaken, which results in the word “home” being characterised as the symbol for a very basic experience of self-awareness in relation to concern for a wider world. The experience of home is subsequently generalised towards a realist ontology of nature – an oikos-oriented ontology. Here the argument connects with the so-called speculative realist turn in contemporary continental philosophy. The proposed oikological approach is distinguished from systems ecology with which it has obvious affinities. Finally, it is argued that for ecology as oikology to come into its own, it must ultimately function at the level and generality of worldview, and not merely as the philosophical broadening of a natural scientific discipline.