Environmental Changes. Reflections from Different Philosophy of Science Perspectives

Dossier / Travail , 2015 , 12 Pages , Note: A

Sciences de la Terre / Géographie - Géographie physique, Géomorphologie, Ecologie

In mainstream Western discourses, phenomena of environmental change such as climate change, loss of biodiversity or degradation of soils are often linguistically equated with value-laden terms such as 'environmental problems', or subsumed under titles such as 'environmental crisis'.
Whereas these phenomena are widely researched and discussed in terms of their nature, their causes, their severity and potential solutions, the underlying assumption of this research and these discussions, namely the assumption that these phenomena are actually problematic and need to be averted, seems rarely to be considered.
However, given the amount of research dedicated to phenomena of environmental change, it is crucial to investigate this assumption.

This paper will discuss how different philosophy of science perspectives would deal with the question in how far phenomena of environmental change (such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, degradation of soils) are actually problematic. The perspectives that will be adopted are positivism, critical realism, social constructivism and feminism.
The paper will be structured along the spectrum between realism and relativism on which positivism, critical realism and social constructivism can be located rather clearly.
However, since “[t]here is no single feminist standpoint”, 'feminism' as such can not be unitarily placed on this spectrum. Therefore, the feminist perspective will not be discussed in a separate section like the other perspectives, but will be taken up wherever it can enrich another perspective in its approach to the question. To provide an understanding of feminism, feminism will be shortly outlined before getting into the discussion of the question.

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• Introduction
• Main part
  • Feminism
  • Positivism
  • Critical Realism
  • Social Constructivism
• Conclusion

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This paper examines the question of whether environmental changes, such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, and degradation of soils, are actually problematic from different perspectives within philosophy of science. It explores how positivism, critical realism, social constructivism, and feminism address this question, taking into account the situatedness of knowledge and the role of gendered dualisms in shaping scientific thought.

• The situatedness of knowledge and its impact on understanding environmental change.
• The role of different philosophical perspectives in framing environmental issues.
• The concept of causality and its application to environmental change.
• The potential for feminist and ecofeminist perspectives to contribute to understanding environmental challenges.
• The importance of considering various standpoints and voices in environmental research.

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

• Introduction: This chapter introduces the central research question, arguing that while environmental change is widely studied and discussed, the assumption that these changes are problematic is rarely questioned. The paper aims to explore this assumption from the perspectives of positivism, critical realism, social constructivism, and feminism.
• Feminism: This chapter provides an overview of feminist theory, highlighting its focus on challenging hegemonic discourses and addressing the situatedness of knowledge and gendered dualisms. It discusses feminist standpoint theory and ecofeminism, exploring their potential to contribute to understanding environmental issues.
• Positivism: This chapter examines the positivist approach to knowledge, emphasizing the importance of observation, experimentation, and comparison. It explores the positivist concept of causality and its limitations, as well as the development of neopositivism through the concept of falsification.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

This paper focuses on environmental change, philosophy of science, positivism, critical realism, social constructivism, feminism, ecofeminism, situatedness of knowledge, gendered dualisms, causality, and problem severity.

• Université: Lund University (The Department of Human Geography and the Human Ecology Division, Faculty of Social Sciences)
• Cours: SIMM23 – Theory of Science for the Social Sciences
• Note: A
• Auteur: Lea Klöppel (Auteur)
• Année de publication: 2015
• Pages: 12
• N° de catalogue: V301394
• ISBN (ebook): 9783656977889
• ISBN (Livre): 9783656977896
• Langue: anglais
• mots-clé: environmental problems, environmental changes, loss of biodiversity, environmental crisis, positivism, critical realism, feminist standpoint theory, social constructivism, human ecology, theory of science, philosophy of science