Box 24, Item 1699: Working draft of Culture, philosophy and approaches to the natural environment - an Australian perspective

Title

Box 24, Item 1699: Working draft of Culture, philosophy and approaches to the natural environment - an Australian perspective

Subject

Typescript of draft, with emendations and annotation, undated. Includes photocopy of draft.

Creator

Source

The University of Queensland's Richard Sylvan Papers UQFL291, Box 24, Item 1699

Date

1983

Contributor

This item was identified for digitisation at the request of The University of Queensland's 2020 Fryer Library Fellow, Dr. N.A.J. Taylor.

Rights

For all enquiries about this work, please contact the Fryer Library, The University of Queensland Library.

Format

[37] leaves. 37.68 MB.

Type

Manuscript

Coverage

Australian National University - Filing Cabinet 1 - Top Drawer

Text

WORKING DRAFT 1'l}l' T1 1,,i··)
CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, AND APPROACHES TO THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT - AN
AUSTRALIAN PERSPECTIVE

Many of you know that Canberra was originally designed by Walter Burley
'lO
Griffin.
This talk is dedicated to him. You may not know that Griffin, an
c111,d l,ee,tJ>,, I! a ,~cJ/2...ru/.1t-l/ '";~1/n,-,l,c1...

American who migrated to Australia in 1913, was

not

simply

an

architect

and

A

lantlscape

designer_, but one of Australia's early deeper ecologists.

key elements of the Western industrial paradigm, especially
on

making

nature

the

servant

of

man',

'land

to

be

accorded

the

'concentration

and discerned instead elements of a

different 'consciousness' (the word is his).
took

the

He rejected

His approach was holistic, and

respect

he

due to a highly developed and

perfected living organism not to be exterminated or treated as dead material, or
as

a

mere

section of a map'.

Canberra, now no mere section of map, is still,

for all its deficiencies, perhaps the best approximation anywhere
.eco~osic-.w,

city;

but it is not only removed from Griffin's original conception

but far from deep ecological ideals.

*

*

*3

*

*

*

*

The objective of the larger investigation, of which this
part,

is

to

gauge

the

extent

to

which

Australian

contrasted with American culture, contains developable
will

underpin

a

under which many
suffers.

talk

sketches

a

culture, especially as
elements

(seeds)

which

different political framework from the bastardised capitalism
people

presently

labour

and

local

environment

frequently

It is not necessary to see the present political arrangements and the

political course
interested

to

in

charted

as

environmentally

alternative structures:

socially

disastrous

to

be

it is enough, for example, to view them

r ,i,v~c~ntL..:f- [.<-ol"l,-"
hd<--t r7' <-.~ .::..

P,r~t- f tl. /~J
1

or

J

I

C-IJll·A-r~u... )
~ tn "S.

those

as far from satisfactory, or very far from

the

of

best

to be interested in the prospects of turning things around somewhat, to

worlds,

increasing ecological resistance [negative action] against
vandalism

and

like, and ecological construction [direct positive action].

the

grounds

give

remarkable level of environmental activism that has

the

especially

hope,

damage,

environment

There are several distinctive features of Australian culture that
for

attainable

of

somehow emerged among the people.

It is worth trying to pull together

some

of

these features of the culture, to look at ways of furthering the valuable parts,
and increasing the level of concern and activism.

the

towards

practices,

and

attitudes

different approaches, different
1
Indeed appreciation of,
environment.

have

cultures

different

Without doubt

practices towards, and respect for the natural environment are highly culturally
dependent:

and where they still survive uncorrupted still have -

nonimperial cultures had
much

exploitative

less

whose

North,

industrial
exploitation

approaches

to

practices

not

vandalism

and

the

environment

merely

environmental

but to a marked extent depend upon such practices.
control"

their

of

local

typically under the missionary, colonial or imperial domination.
in

But occasionally, notably
retained

the

of

those

than
gross

permit

Mostly these more benign cultures have however "lost
environments,

Most

American Jews and American Indians.

instance,

for

compare,

sufficient

autonomy

the
to

adjacent

Pacific,

regional

cultures

2

have

slow or even halt environmental destruction.

Thus, for example, rainforest damaging projects have been delayed or blocked

in

Melanesia largely through Melanesian attitudes to the land.
One important way then to try to slow environmental degradation, especially
in

the

South,

is

to

foster

certain

both

sweepingly, regional cultural autonomy;
socialism

and

indigenous

for

cultural
instance

land rights movements.

2

differences
to

support

and, more
Melanesian

For, where the cultures have

not been excessively corrupted by Northern influences, this is
rapid

way

of

paradigms.

in

the

a

cultural

differences

can

also

serve

Antipodes, in particular in Australia, to at least assist in

transition to different
Such

comparatively

activating alternative paradigms to the dominant Northern social

The question arises whether

elsewhere

a

less

environmentally

exploitative

social

paradigms.

transition is unlikely to occur unless it is based on the culture.

Can

features of the culture and the social life be used to foster and make requisite
differences?
In the case of Australia, a basis
culture,

is

there

both

in

the

land

and

the

and things appear sufficiently different from those in the cultures of

the industrialised North to allow (some hope) for cultural differentiation.
the

need

for

change,

at

least

if the natural environment is to retain some
It

semblance of integrity, there is little doubt.
that

there

is,

in

is

becoming

platitudinous

the longer run not much prospect for the integrity of many

local natural environments and ecosystems
loose

Of

3

unless

we

in

the

Antipodes

break

from the damaging cultural assumptions and practice of the industrialised

North and

work

destructive

towards

establishment

of

a

less

in

some

parts,

rising

tide

war.

of

For despite
environmental

the industrialised North still appears in the grip of

established forces and unlikely to budge in time - short of
nuclear

environmentally

culture, towards a certain regional cultural autonomy.

elements of regionalism in the North, despite a
concern

different

disaster,

such

Though we who seek change can count on some support from minority

movements in the North, nonetheless if we are to achieve changes, we must go
largely

alone.

Nor

is

the

Australia because as well as the
location,

the

advantage

of

the

ground

and

its

southern

seeds of cultural difference are already there and growing.

cultivation.

Such

a

it

task of paradigm transition entirely hopeless in

like most new and more fragile developments they need attention and
speedy

as

careful

But
if

task is rendered urgent also by other matters of

3

environmental and human concern, not just the gathering signs
but

colossal

biological

losses

through

of

nuclear

rapid destruction of, e.g.

war,

tropical

rainforests, indeed mounting evidence of environmental decline almost everywhere
humans now establish.
How does philosophy fit into the strategy of harnessing regional culture to
alter approaches to the environment?

As in the title of the talk it operates in

the middle, not as an idle middleman, but more like
and

design

culture.

principles

A working

picture

that

the main components of the discussion together - a picture that also like

most images of the more abstract distorts across

organising

of the dynamic linkage in a good suspension bridge, which lifts the

environmental way on the ropes of regional
links

the

is

that

of

a

suspension

the gap often separating people from the natural environment.

bridge

There are

people, and the environment, and approaches by bridges to the environment,

like

so:-

approach



Natural
Environment

People

(Of course people may be part of the natural environment:

the

picture

doesn't

exclude that important overlap.) The connecting bridges may be of very different
sorts, ranging from rustic bridges good for careful foot

traffic,

through

the

monumental suspension bridge at Middle Harbour, to modern high-tech bridges able
to carry nuclear tanks and bulldozers over large spans.
of

But it is the structure

all these types of bridges carrying the approaches that matter particularly.

The spans are carried by the ropes of culture, and the pylons of culture if

4

you

will.

~

{dC"' CULTURE

l

(--.__ APPROACH ~
____,___.- ·'---

So

with

approaches.

different

------- ----- -

cultures,

different

carrying

bridges

different

It is better to see the link component in the middle - philosophy,

but it might almost as well be sociology - not as part of the nuts and bolts and
rivets

of

the

structures.
types,

bridges,

but

rather

It has its analytical

computing

the

loads

and

as

parts,

the

design

looking

stresses

at

on them;

and

engineering of the

the

components,

and it also has its more

holistic elements, considering the bridges themselves and
of

them

their

- the social paradigms embedded in the cultures.

select

substructures

Philosophy, the link

subject, is then the architecture and engineering of the business.
Less

figuratively,

assumptions

of

a

philosophy

replacement,

or marxist philosophies.

deep ecology, asks deeper
assumptions

of

all

and

and

assumptions

paradigms.

the

operative

for

example

of

free

Philosophy, especially metaphysics and not

deeper

questions,

extracting

the

fundamental

other subjects and assembling the intellectual assumptions

embodied in a culture or social way of life, i.e.
social

assembles

culture applied in environmental practices, the assumptions,

that is, to be considered for
enterprise

isolates

In

what are sometimes called the

this respect philosophy - which includes much more than

conceptual analysis - is first among the intellectual subjects,

as

logic,

the

science of reasoning, is the first among the sciences, investigating the form of
arguments and methodology of all other sciences.
philosophical

investigation

extracts,

5

The

deeper

assumptions

such

when put together yield a philosophy in

the more popular sense (as e.g.
enterprise

philosophy):

in

philosophy

of

life

or

again

the

free

in any case the result will be a philosophical theory

or the rudiments of a philosophical paradigm, depending on how it is done.

By largely philosophical investigation then,
assumptions

of

the

techniques we try
contrasted
base.

with

operative

to

test

apparent

we

trace

and

Northern social paradigms;

the

adequacy

social

of

the

organise

the

and by sociological

assemblage,

especially

as

alternatives with some environmental support

So much has already been accomplished, in a rough and ready way, and some

results are illustrated in diagram 1.

Details of other positions, the old
culture

(as

positions

typically

offer

environmental

a

projected),

transition

alternative.

are

from

And

and

new

left

and

the

counter

included in the diagram because these

the

while

the

dominant
it

may

Western

appear

paradigm

to

indeed is - a long

political way from the dominant paradigm to the environmental alternative,
of

the

intermediate

taken one at a time.
details

steps is not so great;

To illustrate the way transitions can

of the first line (row) in macro-economic form.

construed

as

representing

package typically includes
environment,

so

the

in

components

each

and the steps can, and have, been
be

made,

consider

The dominant objective

is to maximize some economic package of goods and services
being

such

as

GDP,

a rough way standard of living.
minimal

to

quality

of

life

this

But the
and

and

pollution,

and

perhaps

with additions for non-material features excluded in dominant consciousness.
this way we arrive at New Left thinking with the objective
to considerable reservations, X(RR).

of

material

goes

back

to

Greek

philosophy;

6

In

growth

The real break however comes with

members of the counterculture, the Hippies and Yippies for example,
idea

the

objective function to be maximized gets much complicated,

with subtractions for externalities such as noise

subject

the

though

the

namely, the abandonment of growth and

maximization objectives altogether, for less material nonmaximizing
the

macroeconomic

steady-state
objective

or

will

level,

for

economy,

something

economists have so far sketched.
which

Daly

for

At

the idea gets partially represented by the goal of a

sustainable
be

goals.

example

though

the

alternative

environmental

much less inflexible and nationalistic than

In fact the "emerging steady-state

advocates,

paradigm",

affords only a shallow alternative to the

dominant paradigm, differing only as to

growth

and

reserves

themes.

But

a

fuller diagram of paradigms would include - among others such advanced corporate
capitalism

the

higher-dimensional

steady

state

position;

involve

would

However, the higher dimensional

how a better argued transition can be made;

diagram

essentially by combining

steady-state arguments against macroeconomic growth and stocks assumptions
the

Left-socialist

combination, which
framework

would

a

diagram, and remove the convenient ~simplification of the

two dimensional left-right transition.
indicates

it

so

case
does

not

against microeconomic themes.
touch

human

relations,

a

with

Even so, even with the

narrower

anthropocentric

have been left behind, deeper environmental concern would

have only began to enter.
Reaching behind the dominant Western paradigm so outlined to the underlying
social

model takes us towards the following familiar picture:

society consists

of a set of individual humans of decidedly impoverished type, e.g.

they are not

genuinely interrelated, so they are isolated, and, though they are the only sort
of items that have intensional (mental) features, they have
(e.g.

a

certain

ability

to

calculate).

but

few

of

these

At bottom, these individuals have

utilities, reflecting preferences or self-interests, which they aim to maximize;
and

so

they

are

competitive (by virtue of scarcity).

that they are possessive, and possess
capital.

The

distinctive

the

feature

means

of

Their other feature is

production,

e.g.

land,

of the American model is of course is that

individuals can separately accumulate the means of production.

7

To ensure

their

rABLI J.

COMPLll NG SOC IAL l'ARAD IGMS

<ENVIRONMENTALLY - OR I [ifl [D REPRESEIITAT IONJ
.... RIGHT - LEFT POLITICAL ORIENTAT!Otl

DOMINANT (XJ
WESTERN PARADIGM
CORE
THEMES

ECONOMIC

ORGANISATIONAL

POLITICAL

FURTHER
ENVIRONMENTAL

MATERIAL (ECONOMIC)
GROWTH
DOMINANCE OVER NATURE
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT A
RESOURCE

MARKET FORCES (MINIMALLY
REGULATED, PRODUCTIVITY
AND PROFIT MAXIMIZING)
PREDOMINANTLY PRIVATE
OWNERSHIP OF PRODUCTIVE
MEANS
I ND IV I DUALI ST I c/
COMPETITIVE ETHOS
ELITIST/REWARDS FOR
APPROVED ACHIEVEMENT
CONSUMERISM ENCOURAGED
URBAN-INDUSTRIAL
COMMODITY/CULTURAL
PACKAGING
CENTRALISED : URBAN
CENTRED
LARGE-SCALE: ORDERED
(POWER-) HIERARCHICAL
HUMAN RELATIONS
SECONDARY

/OLD
1LEFT

/NEW
LEFT
1

I

X

1X<R)

X
X

I X
IX

1X<RRl I y
IX<R) I X ➔ Y
1X<Rl I X(RR)

!COMMAND
SYSTEM

I

I
I
I y

y

I y

:X(Q)

I y
I

X

I X(Q)
I X
I X

xrn>

1

IX

:x-v

I X
X<R)

I X-'>Y

NATIONAL FOCUS; MILITARY
DEFENCE

X

I
I X

ALTERNATIVE STRUCTURES
(POWER-BROKERS AND
EXPERTS PROMINENT)
LAW AND ORDER; LEGAL
REGULATION, POLICE BACKED

X
X

1X<Q>
IX(Q)

i X
I
ly(R)

FAITH IN SCIENCE: HIGH
TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS
SEPARATION OF REASON/
EMOTION, FACT/VALUE,
SCIENTIFIC/UTILITARIAN
RATIONALITY; ANALYTIC
REDUCTIONISTIC

y

ly(Q)

I

AMPLE RESERV~S (OR
(SUBSTITUTES)
[NVIRONMENTAL CONTROLLABLE!

y

IXCQ)

I

X->Y

I
I Y<Q>
I y

I

I

v
Y

X<R)
y
/HUMAN RELATIONS
!PRIMARY

'v<Q>
I

X

X·->Y

y

y

'xrn> 'x<R>

y

X

I
1X<R)

X

I X

X
X

I X
IX

X

:x<R>

y

X

I X

y

X

I X

I RATIONALITY

I

I

I

/REJECTED

I

IDEEP ECOLOGY
1DISTINGU!Sfl[D

I

I
!GREATER VALUE
ASSUMPTIOt-j
/REJECTED (FOR
BIOSPECIES
/IMPART I ALI TY)

/TRADITIONAL MARKETS
WITHIN PUBLIC INTEREST
/ FRAMEWORK
LIMITED OWNERSHIP OF
/ PRODUCTIVE MEANS

jDECENTRALISED:

I

I
I

Y/NON OWNERSHIP

COMMUNAL I

I

/SMALL-SCALE; FLEXIBLE
NON-(POWER)HIERARCHJCAL
/HUMAN RELATIONS WITHIN
/ ECO-COMMUN I TY
REGIONAL/NEIGHBOURHOOD
I FOCUS;
SOCIAL (NON-

/VIOLENT) DEFENCE
/
PARTICIPATIVE STRUCTURES
l(cJTIZEN-WORKER
I
INVOLVEMENT)
/LIBERATION; SOCIAL
/REGULATION
/EARTH SUPPLIES LIMITED

y

/NATURE DELICATELY
BALANCED
1NATURE BENIGN
/OTHER ANIMALS ALSO
INTENTIONAL

X➔Y

I

/COLLECTIVE ETHOS/
,soCJAL PROVISION
EGALITARIAN/INCOME NEED
I RELATED
/ CAREFUL USE/RECYCLING ' /Y(ES SENT IAL)
LOCALIS~LF-MANAGEMENT
/PRODUCT/CULTURE EMPHASIS/

y

y
?

!ALTERNATIVE (Y)
ENVIRONMENTAL PAR.4DIGM
1
/ LE SS MATERIAL GOALS
(E,G, SELF- REALISATION)
/HARMON Y WITH NATURE
/NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
VALUED FOR ITSELF

I

y

I y
I

I

ICOUNTER 1CULTURE

I

I
I

STATE
lowNERSHIP

X
X
X

NATURE HOSTILE/NEUTRAL
NONHUMANS ESSENTIALLY
ME CHAN I ST! C
EPISTEMIC/
PHILOSOPHIC

DOMINANT
ISTATE
I SOCIALIST

...

I

LIMITS TO SCIENCE:
IAPPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY
! INTEGRATION OF REASON/
EMOTION, FACT/VALUE , , ,
I~/J DER RATIONALITY (OR)
REJECTION OF NARROWER;
/HOLi ST IC

IV /NATURAL AS
TELEOLOGICAL

I

I ..•


I

entitlement

to

this

is

the initial argument, on this model, for the coercive

apparatus of the (minimal) state.
natural,

this

about

self-interested
Features

There is nothing compulsory, or
Individuals

picture.

competing

individuals

are

matter

of

these

nurture,

abstract

not

nature.

of the American economic archtype are a matter of culture, a result of

training, not human nature, as a comparison
where

approximating

particularly

individuals

are

not

like

this,

individuals embody rationality either:

with
helps

other

traditional

show.

cultures,

Nor do these archtypal

only a question-begging

argument

leads

to the American model as something naturally required.

The transitions to the left already go beyond the American model.
certain

introduces

human

The

relations.

chauvinistic (anthropocentric) but they

do

left

not

models

omit

are

social

The left

still

human

relations:

the

further big step to the environmental alternative is to widen these relations to
full community relations,
independent

value.

recognising

That

is

a

creatures

and

nonhuman

things

as

of

bigger step, a step that no Western political

institutions make requisite allowance

for,

and

that

mainstream

underpinning

Western value theories do not accommodate.

The arguments from traditional cultures can also be
illustrated

paradigms

and

cultures such as those

the

of

models

Melanesia

that

and

directed

underlie

Polynesia,

them.
many

of

against

the

In traditional
the

operative

assumptions of the Northern social paradigms are, very reasonably, not accepted.
Where these cultures still prevail with some measure of regional autonomy, there
is

good

prospect

of

thwarting

more

environmentally

destructive practices.

Features of the local culture can be immediately harnessed.

But much of the
inhabited

and

there are

already

New

governed

and
by

environmentally

less

unscathed

World

peoples of predominantly European stock.

distinctive

features

8

observable

in

New

World

is

now

Although
cultures,

assumptions

of

the

dominant

Northern paradigms have hardly been sufficiently

questioned, let alone overthrown, especially among the manag~rial
other,

or

even

lesser,

features

of

surprisingly

leave

out

There are

cultures

significant

as

artistic

and

intellectual

usually

cultural

industrial culture, though economically dominated
accompanying

other

conspicuous

The incomplete social paradigms outlined do

not exhaust features of the accompanying
rather

to

be

icing.

discerned,

features.
sure,

This

does

affords

European

culture.

This

alternatives.

a

discrepancies.
established

have

an

somewhat
as

that

in romanticism and a significant feature of American Indian

gives

*l

but

Northern

precarious foothold for an aesthetic approach to the environment, such
evidenced

So

the cultures will have to be invoked if

change in approach is to be hastened in this way.
cultural features to be considered.

classes.

But

the

basis

there

of

are

the
as

aesthetic
well

more

route

to

important

environmental
omissions

and

In particular, the dominant American paradigm omits reference to

religion;

also

neglected

are

many

of

the connected older and

formerly more prominent values of American culture.
The

American

search

for

environmentally

acceptable

alternatives

has

regularly turned to these omitted features of American culture, and religious or
spiritual elements, and associated past values 4 •
establish

"the gospel of ecology" and displace the dominant paradigm have taken

a spiritual route, a quasi-religious way.
and

Indeed the primary attempts to

representative

new environmentalism:

(For example, Nash provides a

sample

list of the books he considers important in the rise of the
virtually all that proceed beyond ecology

depend

on

an

appeal to religious elements, to divine or sacred features of natural things.)
In the context of American culture the appeal
something

to

be

said for it.

to

religious

features

has

For, firstly, a high proportion of the American

population profess some active religious commitment;


9

and, unlike

Australia,

a

substantial

do

proportion

act

response.

And, secondly, religious values do clash with

dominant

Northern

paradigm.

This

sort

of

socially

that

with

accordance

in

conflict

precepts

the
was

approved
of

perceived,

considerable puzzlement, by colonised cultures, as Lini reports in the

case

the
with
of

Melanesian society (p.9):
The fabric of this society, with its inherent communal discipline was
torn by the arrival of European commercial practices which
•••
carried with it the message of materialism, together with the creed of
Both aspects were a direct contradiction
enlightened self-interest.
of Melanesian values and priorities. The introduction to Melanesia of
Christianity added a further element of division and confusion in the
While the Christian religion was widely
minds of the people.
compatible with the ethics and principles of Melanesian communalism,
with its emphasis on mutuality, compassion and caring for one another,
it was a practice that very few of the Europeans appeared to follow.
and
individualism
of
religion
It ran also contrary to the
self-interest, which not just (had) more important exponents, but was
followed by the majority of Europeans •••
It is something a a puzzle how the assimilation of elements of the dominant
paradigm with prospects of Christianity is pulled off, though achieved

Northern

There is

it certainly is in a great many Northerners, and too many Antipodeans.
a

compartmentalisation.

partial answer:

Religion for most is a separate thing

fitted into a Sunday morning box, important elements of which do not
the

upset

standard

penetrate deep.

business

to

Thus for most believers religion does not

week.

Only for a minority does it directly

such as human poverty:

escape

touch

immediate

matters

why should we expect it to work for the Environment?

Nonetheless widespread real adoption of religious

perceptions

within

the

American population, and reflected in the Administration, would presumably alter
things.

But even if some of the effects of a religious return would

beneficial,

and

to

nature

domination

highly

be welcomed, it is also true that some of the effects of a

narrow fundamentalism would be highly undesirable.
of

be

were

Unless moreover the position

abandoned in favour of one of the lesser religious

traditions the environmental effects would

10

be

negative

(as

Watt

testifies).

Religion could be more of a drawback than an asset.

Religion in America has lost out to

with any depth to it appears most unlikely.

the

There

existence of God, the fallaciousness of the arguments involved, etc.
no

But nor is the so-called scientific

front-end-in.

cannot account for;

it is that this perspective, a paradigm,

a richer

more intellectually satisfactory rivals (e.g.
view).

such

great

the

incorporates

There are

it is far from uniquely determined.

So

paradigm.

social

dominant

in

view

world

is not just that there is much that this sort of view leaves out or

It

shape.

is

view with these sorts of weaknesses

the

to

return

to

trying

in

virtue

rival

Consider, for instance, the matter of the

view could explain.

scientific

much

for

world view was seriously deficient and it did not account
more

the case for its

In part it failed deservedly:

view".

world

scientific

"the

In any case such a reversal

intensional

scientific

These rivals allow for value and wonder in natural things without taking

a theological way.

character

quasi-religious

reasons

of

set

second

There is a

of

some

sort,

for

not

endeavouring

Christian,

strongly

These

on

turn

the

irreligious character of the culture, where an appeal through religion

is unlikely to have much
as

understood

a

(the

Australia,

success.
first)

post-Christian

it

has

been

irreligious

character

the

of

understanding much else about the culture,

society
e.g.

'best

is

said,

society, in which religion (is)

barely relevant culturally'. *4 Even if that formulation is an
generally

a

Pantheistic or

Jewish,

whatever, on deeper environmental approaches in Australia.

impose

to

exaggeration

the

is a fact and is the key to
the

curious

extent

of

the

state's protrusion into Australian social life.
If an approach through religion is accordingly ruled out as a main approach
to

hastened

paradigm

transition - and a related approach through mysticism or

transcendentalism excluded for analogous reasons and because of

11

the

earthiness

of

the

culture

-

what

alternatives

are

open?

There are other significant

features of the culture running against major elements of the

dominant

paradigm,

effectively

which

can

perhaps

applied

be

much

quasi-religious approaches to turn matters around.

more

Western
than

To indicate the prospects of

applying features of the culture to detach from dominant paradigms, consider how
Australian culture contrasts with American.
Australian mainstream culture
transition

from

the

dominant

is

already

American

political left has much stronger support in
difficult

to

some

culture.
Australia

way
It

along

the

leftward

is not merely that the
than

USA.

It

is

not

indicate features of the Australian cultural situation which show

its left-displacement from the dominant Western paradigm.
some elements of the contrast:-

12

The next table

lists

TABLE 2.

CONTRASTING ELEMENTS IN AUSTRALIAN AND AMERICAN CULTURE
SCALE OF INCREASE

*2

individualistic ethos
inacceptability of socialist institutions
inegalitarian attitudes

POSITIVE

inegalitarian practices

ITEMS (PER

level of consumerism

CAPITA

maximization quest

WHERE

imperialist drive

RELEVANT)

extent of violence
police and military commitment
high technology involvement
functional rationality
environmental inactivism

USA

AUSTRALIA

SCALE OF

INCREASE

level of urbanisation
legal obstacles to environmental action

NEGATIVE

official opposition to environmental
practices, such as dedication of

ITEMS

wilderness
administrative delays in implementing
environmental practices, such as
pollution requirements, recycling, etc.

13

Thus there are some offsetting negative items as well as positive items

in

the

in

the

contrast.
Since, however, most of these contrasting elements bear on
first

diagram

of

rival paradigms in a way favourable to Australian culture as

opposed to American, it appears that prospects
indeed better.

themes

for

applying

the

culture

are

This important theme requires elaboration and confirmation.

The

task can profitably be combined with others:

there is much work here

both

for

environmental spectators with an empirical bent and for environmental activists.
A first task is to separate out what is known, what requires
and

what

ought to be done (ideologically).

and their surrounds, distinguishing firstly
theses:

A weak

confirmation,

Let us focus on transition theses,
factual

and

normative

transition

factual transition thesis, that Western (European) culture is

undergoing a transition

away

from

the

dominant

confirmed by several Northern sociologists (e.g.
better results could be obtained in Australia;

social
Marsh).

paradigm,

has

been

Presumably similar or

but appropriate samplings of the

community have not been done, analysed and so on - environmental sociology being
a

neglected

undoubtedly

field
also

in

Another

Australia.

weak

factual

transition

thesis

holds, namely that since 1960 a significant percentage of the

each human community in specifiable advanced Western countries such as Australia
have

come

to adopt main assumptions of the alternative environmental paradigm.

But again comparative-figures
sociological

work

are

entirely

of

data

to

Though

impressionistic

tells us that environmental activism is greater in Australia

than USA - indeed more intensive than
piece

lacking.

anywhere

else,

an

immensely

build upon - we lack solid confirmation.

sociogeographers to do.

14

important

There is much for

Throughout, as you may have noticed, a normative transition thesis has been
taken

largely

for

granted,

that

Australian

culture, indeed Western culture

generally, ought to be undergoing a major paradigm
Western

paradigms

and

their

away

from

dominant

variations (such as those of advocated corporate

capitalism and of the post-industrial society),
transiting

shift,

and

towards an environmental alternative.

furthermore

ought

the

arguments.

It

is

also

be

That complex normative thesis

is argued for in environmental philosophy, and fortunately there isn't
repeat

to

time

to

argued against there, but, to sum up the

opposition case cavalierly, unconvincingly.

Given then that the transition is going on,
indeed

emerging

are

are

clear

doing

environmental

encourage

enough.
for

it

in

Australia?

example,

directing

action

going

be

aiming

swing

major

Preliminary

against

the

to

organisations.

on,

answers

sources

of

They

should

increase their support bases, but not merely by membership
They should be

endeavouring

to

influence

the dominant regional culture, for the potential appears to be there

for a considerably greater change than has thus far been
two

be

despoilation and the like, primarily industrial organisations and

drives and environmental education.
and

to

Not only should activists be continuing with what

those supposed to regulate them, further (public)
also

ought

ought then to be going on with greater rapidity, how is it hastened, how

do environmental activists

they

and

parts

to

this

further

practice

which

achieved.

There

are

can run in tandem, a more

negative and a more positive part:


More negatively, it involves

cutting

down

and

countering

the

flow

of

propaganda

in favour of the dominant paradigms both locally but especially from

the North.

That is important in reversing the extent of Northern co-option.

includes
gently

a

range of activities some with solid bases in local culture, such as

lopping

anti-American

It

off

the

tall

poppies

pedalling

and anti-Northern activities.

15

the

stuff,

and

careful

The latter practices (which should

not of course reduce merely to personally directed antagonism) fit in well
other

regional

environmental

with

aims, such as independent and nonaligned defence

policies.


More positively, it consists in promoting and adapting other also

despised

features

of

alternative paradigms.
ambassadors,

Australian
It

is

culture that work directly towards themes of

commonly

are,

of

course,

those

Lawrence).
like

nonmaximizing making-do socialistic ones,
appreciation

Northern

intellectuals

of

local

natural

the

The features to be
egalitarian,

along

environments.

with

the

combines

enough:

cultural

with

promoted

or

anti-authoritarian,
rapidly

increasing

Nonmaximizing, for example, is

reflected in the She'll be right and It'll do approach often
and

and

note, that are responsible for the low repute in which some of the

cultural characters are held (e.g.
adapted

commonly

taken

to

things,

egalitarian methods as encapsulated in Fair go and Enough's

consider the effects of these, decently applied, in economics, in local

markets.

As for mateship, sure it could use widening, a main problem being its

restriction in practice to
extension

male

relationships:

to communities (including nonhumans).

is there for deep cultural transformation:

but

why

not

encourage

its

So, to conclude, the potential

we must help to realise it.

FOOTNOTES

1.

The term 'approaches' is intended to include both theory and
both espoused ideology and behaviour.

2.

They did not go under because of the weakness of their intellectual
positions.
At bottom their religious beliefs, for example, were no
more ridiculous than those of Christianity. Typically they were much
weakened by new diseases, and overwhelmed by new technology often
applied in violent fashion.

3.

By integrity is meant much more than retaining representative samples
of this and that system or species;
not representative southern
sassafras, parma wallabies
and
Torres
Strait
Islanders,
but
sufficiently many.

16

practice,

4.

Another past philosophical basis for environmental philosophy, American
naturalism, seems to have been little developed, despite the promise
some have seen in it.

*1

The aesthetic route
Highwater.

is

well-illustrated

by

the

main

approach

in

*2

Note well that it is not being claimed that Australian culture is
egalitarian (in conformity with a popular myth); only that it is less
inegalitarian than American. The hard data underlying the claim---ri
assembled in 'Culture and the roots of political divergence'.

*3

For Griffin's conception of Canberra - a much smaller Canberra, which
included a rail loop - see, to start with, Birrell (still the best
source on Griffin). The first quotation from Griffin is quoted in
Birrell, p.178;
the second is from Griffin's article in Australian
Wild Life.

*4

P.

O'Farrell.
REFERENCES

J.

Highwater, The Primal Mind. Vision
Harper & Row, New York, 1981.

J.

Birrell, Walter Burley Griffin, Queensland U.P., 1964.

W.B.

Griffin,

(,0· cc,,/' «.,PL'0"1 d I

(on

and

Reality

in

Indian

America,

· __ ,.,.,,

ja,n;~, Australian Wild Life J_

(f9Jt-f/), ty ·-J,

W.

Lini, Keynote Address, Australia and the South Pacific, Proceedings
a Conference held at the Australian National University, 1982.

P.

O'Farrell, 'The cultural ambivalence of Australian religion', in
Culture and the State in Australia, Australian Cultural History 1
(1982) Canberra.

R.

Nash, 'Rounding out the American revolution: ethical extension and the
new environmentalism', typescript, University of California at Santa
Barbara, 1982.

A.

Marsh, Protect and Political Consciousness, Sage Beverley Hills, 1977.

s.

Cotgrove, Catastrophe

R.

Routley, 'Roles and limits of paradigms
action', in Elliot and Qlre, 260-293.

R.

Elliot and A.
Gare, Environmental Philosophy.
Readings, University of Queensland Press, 1983.

or-

aae

Cornucopia, Wiley,

17

~~J~rh ,

of

1982.

in environmental

thought

A Collection

and
of

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WORKING DRAFT

·. , ' I

·

CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, AND APPROACHES TO THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT - AN
AUSTRALIAN PERSPECTIVE

Many of you know tha~ Canberra was originally
Griffin.

This

talk

is

(, ,~ ,/ h (: (tJ m,

, .

designed

by

Walter

Burley

'i.C
to him. You may not know that Griffin, an

dedicated

/ 1,• <, , ' ' ! I ·,/ .• r : , J,,--.T~- l, c :....

American who migrated to Australia in 1913, was

not

simply

an

architect

and

,1

lantlscape

designe ~ but one of Australia's early deeper ecologists.

key elements of the Western industrial paradigm, especially
on

making

nature

the

servant

of

man',

'land

to

be

accorded

the

'concentration

and discerned instead elements of a

different 'consciousness' (the word is his).
took

the

He rejected

His approach was holistic, and

respect

he

due to a highly developed and

perfected living organism not to be exterminated or treated as dead material, or
as

a

mere

section of a map'.

Canberra, now no mere section of map, is still,
,.,i/f . ,:i:.

for all its deficiencies, perhaps the best approximation anywhere
~~l-0gical

city;

*

to

*

*

*

*

*

gauge

the

extent

to

which

Australian

contrasted with American culture, contains developable
will

underpin

a

under which many
suffers.

-,/

/h ,1 ;1 ~11._r

talk

sketches

a

culture, especially as
elements

(seeds)

which

different political framework from the bastardised capitalism
people

presently

labour

and

local

environment

frequently

It is not necessary to see the present political arrangements and the

political course
interested

aeeper

*3

The objective of the larger investigation, of which this
is

a

but it is not only removed from Griffin's original conception

but far from deep ecological ideals.

part,

to

in

charted

as

environmentally

alternative structures:
f) '

r ,nt
1

or

socially

disastrous

to

be

it is enough, for example, to view them

t__
ri __f. _________
---1
n__

{- ,-; ,:_... --1 (.

"'I n,l ._

1

,.

(•✓ L / ~• • }

'
<: l7' 1 •-rt,,,_
c, ,
/---5-0-J. i +- I~.,, )•
I

as far from satisfactory, or very far from
worlds,

those

of

the

best

attainable

to be interested in the prospects of turning things around somewhat, to

increasing ecological resistance [negative action] against
vandalism

and

the

environment

hope,

damage,

like, and ecological construction [direct positive action].

There are several distinctive features of Australian culture that
for

of

especially

the

give

grounds

remarkable level of environmental activism that has

somehow emerged among the people.

It is worth trying to pull together

some

of

these features of the culture, to look at ways of furthering the valuable parts,
and increasing the level of concern and activism.

Without doubt
attitudes

and

different

practices,

cultures

towards

have

the

different

environment.

approaches,

1

different

Indeed appreciation of,

practices towards, and respect for the natural environment are highly culturally
dependent:

compare,

for

nonimperial cultures had
much

less

North,

exploitation

and

American Jews and American Indians.

whose

approaches

to

practices

not

vandalism

the

environment

merely

permit

those

of

the

environmental

gross

control"

of

their

local

typically under the missionary, colonial or imperial domination.

But occasionally, notably
retained

than

but to a marked extent depend upon such practices.

Mostly these more benign cultures have however "lost
environments,

Most

and where they still survive uncorrupted still have -

exploitative

industrial

instance,

sufficient

in

autonomy

the
to

adjacent

Pacific,

regional

cultures

2

have

slow or even halt environmental destruction.

Thus, for example, rainforest damaging projects have been delayed or blocked

in

Melanesia largely through Melanesian attitudes to the land.

One important way then to try to slow environmental degradation, especially
in

the

South,

is

to

foster

both

certain

sweepingly, regional cultural autonomy;
socialism

and

indigenous

for

cultural
instance

land rights movements.

2

differences
to

support

and, more
Melanesian

For, where the cultures have

not been excessively corrupted by Northern influences, this is
rapid

way

of

paradigms.

in

the

a

cultural

differences

can

also

serve

Antipodes, in particular in Australia, to at least assist in

transition to different
Such

comparatively

activating alternative paradigms to the dominant Northern social

The question arises whether

elsewhere

a

less

environmentally

exploitative

social

paradigms.

transition is unlikely to occur unless it is based on the culture.

Can

features of the culture and the social life be used to foster and make requisite
differences?

In the case of Australia, a basis
culture,

is

there

both

in

the

land

and

and things appear sufficiently different from those in the cultures of

the industrialised North to allow (some hope) for cultural differentiation .
the

need

for

change,

at

least

there

is,

in

It

is

becoming

platitudinous

the longer run not much prospect for the integrity of many

local natural environments and ecosystems
loose

Of

if the natural environment is to retain some

semblance of integrity, there is little doubt.
that

3

unless

we

in

the

Antipodes

break

from the damaging cultural assumptions and practice of the industrialised

North and

work

destructive

towards

establishment

of

a

concern

in

different

less

some

parts,

rising

tide

war.

of

For despite
environmental

the industrialised North still appears in the grip of

established forces and unlikely to budge in time - short of
nuclear

environmentally

culture, towards a certain regional cultural autonomy.

elements of regionalism in the North, despite a

disaster,

such

largely

alone.

Nor

is

the

Australia because as well as the
location,

the

as

Though we who seek change can count on some support from minority

movements in the North, nonetheless if we are to achieve changes, we must go

advantage

of

the

ground

and

its

southern

seeds of cultural difference are already there and growing.

cultivation.

Such

a

it

task of paradigm transition entirely hopeless in

like most new and more fragile developments they need attention and
speedy

the

careful

But
if

task is rendered urgent also by other matters of

3

environmental and human concern, not just the gathering signs
but

colossal

biological

losses

through

of

nuclear

rapid destruction of, e.g.

war,

tropical

rainforests, indeed mounting evidence of environmental decline almost everywhere
humans now establish.

How does philosophy fit into the strategy of harnessing regional culture to
alter approaches to the environment?

As in the title of the talk it operates in

the middle, not as an idle middleman, but more like
and

design

culture.

principles

A

working

picture

that

the main components of the discussion together - a picture that also like

most images of the more abstract distorts across

organising

of the dynamic linkage in a good suspension bridge, which lifts the

environmental way on the ropes of regional
links

the

is

that

of

a

suspension

the gap often separating people from the natural environment.

bridge

There are

people, and the environment, and approaches by bridges to the environment,

like

so:-

approach



People

Natural
Environment

(Of course people may be part of the natural environment:

the

picture

doesn't

exclude that important overlap.) The connecting bridges may be of very different
sorts, ranging from rustic bridges good for careful foot

traffic,

through

the

monumental suspension bridge at Middle Harbour, to modern high-tech bridges able
to carry nuclear tanks and bulldozers over large spans.
of

But it is the structure

all these types of bridges carrying the approaches that matter particularly.

The spans are carried by the ropes of culture, and the pylons of culture if

4

you

will.

\

\

\

\

)

(......._ APPROACH
_ .,__ _.

So

with

approaches.

different

'--

--------- ---~

cultures,

__,.;::;f

---

different

carrying

bridges

different

It is better to see the link component in the middle - philosophy,

but it might almost as well be sociology - not as part of the nuts and bolts and
rivets

of

the

structures.
types,

bridges,

but

rather

It has its analytical

computing

the

loads

and

as

parts,

the

design

looking

stresses

at

on them;

and

engineering of the

the

components,

and it also has its more

holistic elements, considering the bridges themselves and
of

them

their

- the social paradigms embedded in the cultures.

select

substructures

Philosophy, the link

subject, is then the architecture and engineering of the business.

Less

figuratively,

assumptions

of

a

philosophy

replacement,

or marxist philosophies.

deep ecology, asks deeper
assumptions

of

all

and

and

assumptions

paradigms.

the

operative

for

example

of

free

Philosophy, especially metaphysics and not

deeper

questions,

extracting

the

fundamental

other subjects and assembling the intellectual assumptions

embodied in a culture or social way of life, i.e.
social

assembles

culture applied in environmental practices, the assumptions,

that is, to be considered for
enterprise

isolates

In

what are sometimes called the

this respect philosophy - which includes much more than

conceptual analysis - is first among the intellectual subjects,

as

logic,

the

science of reasoning, is the first among the sciences, investigating the form of
arguments and methodology of all other sciences.
philosophical

investigation

extracts,

5

The

deeper

assumptions

such

when put together yield a philosophy in

the more popular sense (as e.g.
enterprise

philosophy):

in

philosophy

of

life

or

again

the

free

in any case the result will be a philosophical theory

or the rudiments of a philosophical paradigm, depending on how it is done.

By largely philosophical investigation then,
assumptions

of

the

techniques we try
contrasted
base.

with

operative

to

test

apparent

we

trace

and

Northern social paradigms;

the

adequacy

social

of

the

organise

the

and by sociological

assemblage,

especially

as

alternatives with some environmental support

So much has already been accomplished, in a rough and ready way, and some

results are illustrated in diagram 1.

Details of other positions, the old
culture

(as

positions

typically

offer

environmental

a

projected),

transition

alternative.

are

from

And

and

new

left

and

the

counter

included in the diagram because these

the

while

the

dominant
it

may

Western

appear

paradigm

to

indeed is - a long

political way from the dominant paradigm to the environmental alternative,
of

the

intermediate

taken one at a time.
details

steps is not so great;

To illustrate the way transitions can

of the first line (row) in macro-economic form.

construed

as

representing

package typically includes
environment,

so

the

in

components

be

made,

consider

The dominant objective
such

as

GDP,

a rough way standard of living.
minimal

to

quality

of

life

this

But the
and

and

pollution,

and

perhaps

with additions for non-material features excluded in dominant consciousness.
this way we arrive at New Left thinking with the objective
to considerable reservations, X(RR).

of

material

goes

back

to

Greek

philosophy;

6

In

growth

The real break however comes with

members of the counterculture, the Hippies and Yippies for example,
idea

the

objective function to be maximized gets much complicated,

with subtractions for externalities such as noise

subject

each

and the steps can, and have, been

is to maximize some economic package of goods and services
being

the

though

the

namely, the abandonment of growth and

maximization objectives altogether, for less material nonmaximizing
the

macroeconomic

steady-state
objective

or

will

level,

for

economy,

something

economists have so far sketched.
which

Daly

for

At

the idea gets partially represented by the goal of a

sustainable
be

goals.

example

though

the

alternative

environmental

much less inflexible and nationalistic than

In fact the ''emerging steady-state

advocates,

paradigm",

affords only a shallow alternative to the

dominant paradigm, differing only as to

growth

and

reserves

But

themes.

a

fuller diagram of paradigms would include - among others such advanced corporate
capitalism

the

higher-dimensional

steady

position;

state

it

would

involve

However, the higher dimensional

how a better argued transition can be made;

diagram

essentially by combining

steady-state arguments against macroeconomic growth and stocks assumptions
the

Left-socialist

combination, which
framework

would

a

diagram, and remove the convenient oversimplification of the

two dimensional left-right transition.
indicates

so

case
does

not

against microeconomic themes.
touch

human

relations,

a

with

Even so, even with the

narrower

anthropocentric

have been left behind, deeper environmental concern would

have only began to enter.

Reaching behind the dominant Western paradigm so outlined to the underlying
social

model takes us towards the following familiar picture:

society consists

of a set of individual humans of decidedly impoverished type, e.g.

they are not

genuinely interrelated, so they are isolated, and, though they are the only sort
of items that have intensional (mental) features, they have
(e.g.

a

certain

ability

to

calculate).

but

few

of

these

At bottom, these individuals have

utilities, reflecting preferences or self-interests, which they aim to maximize;
and

so

they

are

competitive (by virtue of scarcity).

that they are possessive, and possess
capital.

The

distinctive

the

feature

means

of

Their other feature is

production,

e.g.

land,

of the American model is of course is that

individuals can separately accumulate the means of production.

7

To ensure

their

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I

entitlement

to

this

is

the initial argument, on this model, for the coercive

apparatus of the (minimal) state.
natural,

this

about

self-interested
Features

There is nothing compulsory, or

picture.

competing

Individuals

individuals

are

matter

of

these

nurture,

abstract

not

nature.

of the American economic archtype are a matter of culture, a result of

training, not human nature, as a comparison
where

approximating

particularly

individuals

are

not

like

this,

individuals embody rationality either:

with
helps

other

traditional

cultures,

Nor do these archtypal

show.

only a question-begging

argument

leads

to the American model as something naturally required.

The transitions to the left already go beyond the American model.
introduces

certain

relations.

human

chauvinistic (anthropocentric) but they

The
do

left

not

models

omit

are

social

The left

still

human

relations:

the

further big step to the environmental alternative is to widen these relations to
full community relations,
independent

value.

recognising

That

is

a

creatures

and

nonhuman

things

as

of

bigger step, a step that no Western political

institutions make requisite allowance

for,

and

that

mainstream

underpinning

Western value theories do not accommodate.

The arguments from traditional cultures can also be
illustrated

paradigms

cultures such as those

and
of

the

models

Melanesia

that

and

directed

underlie

Polynesia,

them.
many

against

the

In traditional

of

the

operative

assumptions of the Northern social paradigms are, very reasonably, not accepted.
Where these cultures still prevail with some measure of regional autonomy, there
is

good

prospect

of

thwarting

more

environmentally

destructive practices.

Features of the local culture can be immediately harnessed.

But much of the
inhabited

and

there are

already

New

governed

and
by

environmentally

less

unscathed

World

peoples of predominantly European stock.

distinctive

features

8

observable

in

New

World

is

now

Although
cultures,

assumptions

of

the

dominant

Northern paradigms have hardly been sufficiently

questioned, let alone overthrown, especially among the managerial
other,

or

even

lesser,

features

of

surprisingly

leave

There are

out

cultures

significant

as

artistic

and

intellectual

usually

cultural

industrial culture, though economically dominated
accompanying

other

conspicuous

The incomplete social paradigms outlined do

not exhaust features of the accompanying
rather

to

be

sure,

does

affords

European

culture.

This

alternatives.

a

discrepancies.
established

have

an

somewhat
as

that

in romanticism and a significant feature of American Indian

gives

*l

but

Northern

features.

This

icing.

discerned,

precarious foothold for an aesthetic approach to the environment, such
evidenced

So

the cultures will have to be invoked if

change in approach is to be hastened in this way.
cultural features to be considered.

classes.

But

the

basis

there

of

the
as

are

aesthetic
well

more

route

to

important

environmental
omissions

and

In particular, the dominant American paradigm omits reference to

religion;

also

neglected

are

many

of

the connected older and

formerly more prominent values of American culture.

The

American

search

for

environmentally

acceptable

alternatives

has

regularly turned to these omitted features of American culture, and religious or
spiritual elements, and associated past values 4 •
establish

"the gospel of ecology" and displace the dominant paradigm have taken

a spiritual route, a quasi-religious way.
and

Indeed the primary attempts to

representative

(For example, Nash provides a

sample

list of the books he considers important in the rise of the

new environmentalis m:

virtually all that proceed beyond ecology

depend

on

an

appeal to religious elements, to divine or sacred features of natural things.)
In the context of American culture the appeal
something

to

be

said for it.

to

religious

features

has

For, firstly, a high proportion of the American

population profess some active religious commitment;

9

and, unlike

Australia,

a

substantial

proportion

do

act

in

accordance

with

that

response.

And, secondly, religious values do clash with

dominant

Northern

paradigm.

This

sort

of

conflict

socially

the

precepts

was

approved
of

perceived,

considerable puzzlement, by colonised cultures, as Lini reports in the

case

the
with
of

Melanesian society (p.9):
The fabric of this society, with its inherent communal discipline was
torn by the arrival of European commercial practices which
carried with it the message of materialism, together with the creed of
enlightened self-int-erest.
Both aspects were a direct contradiction
of Melanesian values and priorities. The introduction to Melanesia of
Christianity added a further element of division and confusion in the
minds of the people.
While the Christian religion was widely
compatible with the ethics and principles of Melanesian communalism,
with its emphasis on mutuality, compassion and caring for one another,
it was a practice that very few of the Europeans appeared to follow.
It ran also contrary to the
religion
of
individualism
and
self-interest, which not just (had) more important exponents, but was
followed by the majority of Europeans •••
It is something a a puzzle how the assimilation of elements of the dominant
Northern

paradigm with prospects of Christianity is pulled off, though achieved

it certainly is in a great many Northerners, and too many Antipodeans.
a

partial answer:

compartmentalisation.

Religion for most is a separate thing

fitted into a Sunday morning box, important elements of which do not
upset

the

standard

penetrate deep.

business

week.

escape

to

Thus for most believers religion does not

Only for a minority does it directly

such as human poverty:

There is

touch

immediate

matters

why should we expect it to work for the Environment?

Nonetheless widespread real adoption of religious

perceptions

within

the

American population, and reflected in the Administration, would presumably alter
things.

But even if some of the effects of a religious return would

beneficial,

and

to

nature

domination

highly

be welcomed, it is also true that some of the effects of a

narrow fundamentalism would be highly undesirable.
of

be

were

Unless moreover the position

abandoned in favour of one of the lesser relig ious

traditions the environmental effects would

10

be

negative

(as

Watt

testifies).

Religion could be more of a drawback than an asset.
with any depth to it appears most unlikely.
"the

scientific

world

view".

In any case such a reversal

Religion in America has lost out to

In part it failed deservedly:

world view was seriously deficient and it did not account
more

scientific

view could explain.

the case for its

for

much

the

Consider, for instance, the matter of the

existence of God, the fallaciousness of the arguments involved, etc.
no

virtue

in

front-end-in.
shape.

It

trying

return

to

the

is

world

view

in

such

great

is not just that there is much that this sort of view leaves out or

social

it is that this perspective, a paradigm,

paradigm.

So

incorporates

it is far from uniquely determined.

more intellectually satisfactory rivals (e.g.
view).

There

view with these sorts of weaknesses

But nor is the so-called scientific

cannot account for;
dominant

to

rival

a richer

intensional

the

There are
scientific

These rivals allow for value and wonder in natural things without taking

a theological way.

There is a

second

quasi-religious

set

character

of
of

reasons
some

sort,

for

not

endeavouring

Christian,

Jewish,

whatever, on deeper environmental approaches in Australia.
strongly

impose

a

Pantheistic or

These

turn

on

the

irreligious character of the culture, where an appeal through religion

is unlikely to have much
understood

as

a

(the

success.
first)

Australia,

post-Christian

it

has

been

irreligious

character

of

the

understanding much else about the culture,

society
e.g.

said,

is

'best

society, in which religion (is)

barely relevant culturally'. *4 Even if that formulation is an
generally

to

exaggeration

the

is a fact and is the key to
the

curious

extent

of

the

state's protrusion into Australian social life.
If an approach through religion is accordingly ruled out as a main approach
to

hastened

paradigm

transition - and a related approach through mysticism or

transcendentali sm excluded for analogous reasons and because of

11

the

earthiness

of

the

culture

what

alternative s

are

open?

There are other significant

features of the culture running against major elements of the

dominant

paradigm,

effectively

which

can

perhaps

be

much

applied

quasi-relig ious approaches to turn matters around.

more

Western
than

To indicate the prospects of

applying features of the culture to detach from dominant paradigms, consider how
Australian culture contrasts with American.

Australian mainstream culture
transition

from

the

dominant

is

already

American

political left has much stronger support in
difficult

to

some

culture.
Australia

way
It

along

the

leftward

is not merely that the
than

USA.

It

is

not

indicate features of the Australian cultural situation which show

its left-displac ement from the dominant Western paradigm.
some elements of the contrast:-

12

The next table

lists

TABLE 2.

CONTRASTING ELEMENTS IN AUSTRALIAN AND AMERICAN CULTURE
SCALE OF INCREASE

*2

individualistic ethos
inacceptability of socialist institutions
inegalitarian attitudes

POSITIVE

inegalitarian practices

ITEMS (PER

level of consumerism

CAPITA

maximization quest

WHERE

imperialist drive

RELEVANT)

extent of violence
police and military commitment
high technology involvement
functional rationality
environmental inactivism

AUSTRALIA

USA

SCALE OF

INCREASE

level of urbanisation
legal obstacles to environmental action

NEGATIVE

official opposition to environmental
practices, such as dedication of

ITEMS

wilderness
administrative delays in implementing
environmental practices, such as
pollution requirements, recycling, etc.

13

Thus there are some offsetting negative items as well as positive items

in

the

in

the

contrast.

Since, however, most of these contrasting elements bear on
first

diagram

of

rival paradigms in a way favourable to Australian culture as

opposed to American, it appears that prospects
indeed better.

themes

for

applying

the

culture

are

This important theme requires elaboration and confirmation.

The

task can profitably be combined with others:

there is much work here

both

for

environmental spectators with an empirical bent and for environmental activists.
A first task is to separate out what is known, what requires
and

what

ought to be done (ideologically ).

and their surrounds, distinguishing firstly
theses:

A

weak

confirmation,

Let us focus on transition theses,
factual

and

normative

transition

factual transition thesis, that Western (European) culture is

undergoing a transition

away

from

the

dominant

confirmed by several Northern sociologists (e.g.
better results could be obtained in Australia;

social
Marsh).

paradigm,

has

been

Presumably similar or

but appropriate samplings of the

community have not been done, analysed and so on - environmental sociology being
a

neglected

undoubtedly

field
also

in

Australia.

Another

weak

factual

transition

thesis

holds, namely that since 1960 a significant percentage of the

each human community in specifiable advanced Western countries such as Australia
have

come

to adopt main assumptions of the alternative environmental paradigm.

But again comparative-fig ures
sociological

work

are

entirely

of

data

to

Though

impressionistic

tells us that environmental activism is greater in Australia

than USA - indeed more intensive than
piece

lacking.

anywhere

else,

an

immensely

build upon - we lack solid confirmation.

sociogeographer s to do.

14

important

There is much for

Throughout, · as you may have noticed, a normative transition thesis has been
taken

largely

for

granted,

that

Australian

culture, indeed Western culture

generally, ought to be undergoing a major paradigm
Western

paradigms

and

their

away

from

dominant

variations (such as those of advocated corporate

capitalism and of the post-indus trial society),
transiting

shift,

and

towards an environmen tal alternative .

furthermore

ought

the

arguments.

It

is

also

be

That complex normative thesis

is argued for in environmen tal philosophy, and fortunately there isn't
repeat

to

time

to

argued against there, but, to sum up the

opposition case cavalierly, unconvincin gly.
Given then that the transition is going on,
indeed

emerging

are

are

clear

doing

environmen tal

encourage

enough.
for

it

in

Australia?

example,

directing

action

going

be

aiming

swing

major

Preliminary

against

the

to

organisatio ns.

on,

answers

sources

of

They

should

increase their support bases, but not merely by membership
They should be

endeavourin g

to

influence

the dominant regional culture, for the potential appears to be there

for a considerabl y greater change than has thus far been
two

be

despoilatio n and the like, primarily industrial organisatio ns and

drives and environmen tal education.
and

to

Not only should activists be continuing with what

those supposed to regulate them, further (public)
also

ought

ought then to be going on with greater rapidity, how is it hastened, how

do environmen tal activists

they

and

parts

to

this

further

practice

which

achieved.

There

are

can run in tandem, a more

negative and a more positive part:


More negatively, it involves

cutting

down

and

countering

the

flow

of

propaganda

in favour of the dominant paradigms both locally but especially from

the North.

That is important in reversing the extent of Northern co-option.

includes
gently

a

range of activities some with solid bases in local culture, such as

lopping

anti-Americ an

It

off

the

tall

poppies

pedalling

and anti-Northe rn activities.

15

the

stuff,

and

careful

The latter practices (which should

.

.

not of course reduce merely to personall y directed antagonism ) fit in well
other

regional

environm ental

with

aims, such as independe nt and nonaligne d defence

policies.


More positivel y, it consists in promoting and adapting other also

despised

features

of

alternati ve paradigms .
ambassado rs,

Australia n
It

is

culture that work directly towards themes of

commonly

Northern

intellect uals

Lawrence ).

adapted

like

are,

of

course,

those

nonmaxim izing making-do socialist ic ones,
of

local

natural

the

The features to be
egalitari an,

along

environm ents.

with

the

combines

enough:

cultural

with

promoted

or

anti-auth oritarian ,
rapidly

increasin g

Nonmaxim izing, for example, is

reflected in the She'll be right and It'll do approach often
and

and

note, that are responsib le for the low repute in which some of the

cultural character s are held (e.g.

appreciat ion

commonly

taken

to

things,

egalitari an methods as encapsula ted in Fair go and Enough's

consider the effects of these, decently applied, in economics , in local

markets.

As for mateship, sure it could use widening, a main problem being its

restrictio n in practice to
extension

male

relations hips:

to communit ies (includin g nonhuman s).

is there for deep cultural transform ation:

but

why

not

encourage

its

So, to conclude, the potential

we must help to realise it.

FOOTNOTES

1.

The term 'approach es' is intended to include both theory and
both espoused ideology and behaviour .

2.

They did not go under because of the weakness of their intellect ual
positions .
At bottom their religious beliefs, for example, were no
more ridiculou s than those of Christian ity. Typically they were much
weakened by new diseases, and overwhelm ed by new technolog y often
applied in violent fashion.

3.

By integrity is meant much more than retaining represent ative samples
of this and that system or species;
not represent ative southern
sassafras , parma wallabies
and
Torres
Strait
Islanders ,
but
sufficien tly many.

16

practice,

4.

Another past philosophic al basis for environmen tal philosophy, American
naturalism, seems to have been little developed, despite the promise
some have seen in it.

*1

The aesthetic route
Highwater.

*2

Note well that it is not being claimed that Australian culture is
egalitarian (in conformity with a popular myth); only that it is less
inegalitari an than American. The hard data underlying the claim--rs
assembled in 'Culture and the roots of political divergence '.

*3

For Griffin's conception of Canberra - a much smaller Canberra, which
included a rail loop - see, to start with, Birrell (still the best
source on Griffin). The first quotation from Griffin is quoted in
Birrell, p.178;
the second is from Griffin's article in Australian
Wild Life.

*4

P.

is

well-illust rated

by

the

main

approach

in

O'Farrell.
REFERENCES

J.

Highwater, The Primal Mind. Vision
Harper & Row, New York, 1981.

J.

Birrell, Walter Burley Griffin, Queensland U.P., 1964.

W.B.

Griffin,

-.

)

,

'\

and

,•

Reality

in

Indian

America,

Australian Wild Life

W.

Lini, Keynote Address, Australia and the South Pacific, Proceedings
a Conference held at the Australian National University, 1982.

P.

O'Farrell,
'The cultural ambivalence of Australian religion', in
Culture and the State in Australia, Australian Cultural History 1
(1982) Canberra.

R.

Nash, 'Rounding out the American revolution: ethical extension and the
new environmen talism', typescript, University of California at Santa
Barbara, 1982.

A.

Marsh, Protect and Political Consciousne ss, Sage Beverley Hills, 1977.

s.

Cotgrove, Catastrophe and Cornucopia, Wiley, ,\,'. ~· , ,,

R.

Routley, 'Roles and limits of paradigms
action', in Elliot and Gare, 260-293.

R.

Elliot and A.
Ga:re, Environmen tal Philosophy.
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of

c- r-

17

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in environmen tal

A

thought

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and

of

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Citation

Richard Routley, “Box 24, Item 1699: Working draft of Culture, philosophy and approaches to the natural environment - an Australian perspective,” Antipodean Antinuclearism, accessed March 28, 2024, https://antipodean-antinuclearism.org/items/show/160.

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