What is integral ecology?
While the term integral ecology may be an unfamiliar one, it nonetheless plays an essential role in the Catholic Church’s thinking and approach to tackling the ecological crisis today. Drawing upon the wisdom of the Church, Pope Francis urges us all to view both the ecological and the human crisis through an integral approach, as a way for us all to work together to protect the earth, our common home.
This animation is based on the teachings found in the encyclical Laudato Si’, by Pope Francis. Find out more about the teachings on Laudato Si’.
TRANSCRIPT
Integral ecology
The global ecological crisis that we find ourselves in today presents not only one of the biggest threats to the human family, but also to all life on earth.
The ecological crisis is made up of a wide assortment of interconnected problems ranging from climate change to biodiversity loss, from resource depletion to air pollution, from soil degradation to plastic pollution, plus many more. All these crises each pose significant challenges to the global family, not only in their complexity but also in scale.
Faced with this global and urgent threat many believe that we can engineer our way out of this crisis. After all, technology and the industrial revolution got us into this mess, therefore technology and human ingenuity can get us out of it.
But trying to solve the ecological crisis by developing new technical solutions can only treat the symptoms, not the cause. For the crisis we now face, given its complexity and interconnectedness, demands a new approach if we are to treat the roots of the crisis. This requires a new way of seeing, thinking and acting.
The Catholic Church calls this integral ecology, and this approach offers a profound insight into how we can tackle the ecological crisis in an integrated way.
When we view the crisis through the lens of integral ecology, rather than seeing each discreet problem in isolation, we begin to see that everything is deeply interconnected.
This integrated view reveals a deeper insight. Not only are the ecological problems interconnected, but there is also an interconnection between the ecological crisis and the human crisis.
For the human crisis, just like the ecological one, is made up of a wide range of issues affecting the human family; from extreme poverty to social inequality, from modern slavery to human trafficking, from poor working conditions to mass migration, and many more.
Through the lens of integral ecology, we can see that we are faced not with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather with one complex crisis which is both human and environmental. Or to put it another way, the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor are the same cry. Everything is interconnected.
The insatiable desire for economic growth drives the production and market for ever-cheaper consumer goods, which drives the depletion of earth’s natural resources, and is also a driver for cheap labour, which drives poor working conditions, which drives weak environmental standards, which drives pollution, which drives greenhouse emissions, which drives climate change, which destroys livelihoods, which drives mass migration, which drives growth in urbanisation, which drives an increase in slum dwellings, which drives social inequality, which drives poor social and health services, which drives an increase in poverty, which drives despair and violence…
All of these issues are interconnected, and each problem cannot be solved without tackling the others. Integral ecology shows us that the ecological crisis is not simply a series of problems to be fixed, but rather is a symptom of something that goes much deeper. Because at the heart of the ecological crisis lies a deep human and spiritual crisis, in that we have forgotten who we are and where we have come from.
Nature is not something separate from ourselves, or a mere setting in which we live, but rather we are part of nature, included in it and in constant interaction with it.
We have forgotten that we ourselves are dust of the earth, our very bodies are made up of her elements, we breathe her air and we receive life and refreshment from her waters. Just as ecology is the relationship of living organisms and their environment, we cannot regard ourselves as separate or disconnected with the ecosystems in which we live. Just as the earth’s ecosystems have worked harmoniously for millions of years, we too are part of a complex network of interconnected relationships that we may never fully comprehend or understand.
When we forget where we belong, we behave as lords and masters over creation, entitled to plunder her at will. Creation is viewed simply as an object to exploit. And that same mindset of domination is also how we treat each other.
And when nature and humans are seen solely as a source for profit and gain, this has serious consequences for both our planet and the human family. This is why the human and the ecological crisis both share a common source.
When we view reality through the lens of integral ecology we can see how all creation is a web of life that includes human and social dimensions.
By understanding where we belong, and our interconnectedness within the ecosystems that sustain us, we will no longer see God’s creation as an object, there simply to serve our needs, but rather, we come to a deeper understanding of our interdependence and our place of belonging within the delicate web of life.
And by doing so, we can start to care for each other, as well as the earth, our common home. And given the urgency of our current situation, this new way of thinking and acting is needed now, more than ever.
Laudato Si’, On care for our common home.
Pope Francis, 2015
- When we speak of the “environment”, what we really mean is a relationship existing between nature and the society which lives in it. Nature cannot be regarded as something separate from ourselves or as a mere setting in which we live. We are part of nature, included in it and thus in constant interaction with it. Recognizing the reasons why a given area is polluted requires a study of the workings of society, its economy, its behaviour patterns, and the ways it grasps reality. Given the scale of change, it is no longer possible to find a specific, discrete answer for each part of the problem. It is essential to seek comprehensive solutions which consider the interactions within natural systems themselves and with social systems. We are faced not with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather with one complex crisis which is both social and environmental. Strategies for a solution demand an integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and at the same time protecting nature.
- …Bartholomew has drawn attention to the ethical and spiritual roots of environmental problems, which require that we look for solutions not only in technology but in a change of humanity; otherwise we would be dealing merely with symptoms. He asks us to replace consumption with sacrifice, greed with generosity, wastefulness with a spirit of sharing, an asceticism which “entails learning to give, and not simply to give up. It is a way of loving, of moving gradually away from what I want to what God’s world needs. It is liberation from fear, greed and compulsion”.[17]As Christians, we are also called “to accept the world as a sacrament of communion, as a way of sharing with God and our neighbours on a global scale. It is our humble conviction that the divine and the human meet in the slightest detail in the seamless garment of God’s creation, in the last speck of dust of our planet”.[18]
- Francis helps us to see that an integral ecology calls for openness to categories which transcend the language of mathematics and biology, and take us to the heart of what it is to be human. Just as happens when we fall in love with someone, whenever he would gaze at the sun, the moon or the smallest of animals, he burst into song, drawing all other creatures into his praise. He communed with all creation, even preaching to the flowers, inviting them “to praise the Lord, just as if they were endowed with reason”.[19]His response to the world around him was so much more than intellectual appreciation or economic calculus, for to him each and every creature was a sister united to him by bonds of affection. That is why he felt called to care for all that exists. His disciple Saint Bonaventure tells us that, “from a reflection on the primary source of all things, filled with even more abundant piety, he would call creatures, no matter how small, by the name of ‘brother’ or ‘sister’”.[20]Such a conviction cannot be written off as naive romanticism, for it affects the choices which determine our behaviour. If we approach nature and the environment without this openness to awe and wonder, if we no longer speak the language of fraternity and beauty in our relationship with the world, our attitude will be that of masters, consumers, ruthless exploiters, unable to set limits on their immediate needs. By contrast, if we feel intimately united with all that exists, then sobriety and care will well up spontaneously. The poverty and austerity of Saint Francis were no mere veneer of asceticism, but something much more radical: a refusal to turn reality into an object simply to be used and controlled.
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