The Ideology of Environmental Domination
Lecture Part 4
SOC165
Spring 2010
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In Part 4
•HEP-NEP and Environmental Sociology
2004_18_dunlap william-catton
Riley Dunlap
William Catton
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HEP
•HEP: “Human exemptionalism paradigm”
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•Ideology that the physical environment is irrelevant to the study of society
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•Describes mainstream Sociological worldview
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HEP
•Dunlap & Catton: Society has been characterized by a Dominant Social Paradigm
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•So has the field of Sociology
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•HEP should be replaced by “a fundamentally ecological worldview,” a New Ecological Paradigm (NEP)
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•Dunlap & Catton: Humans are an exceptional species, but not exempt from biophysical influences
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•Proposing a revolution in Sociology?
HEP vs. NEP
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HEP-NEP and Sociology
•Call for reform with Sociology to accept biophysical world as subject of social study &
explanatory variable
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•Replace the anthropocentric and dominating view of HEP
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•Integrate environmental concern into Sociology
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Dunlap & Catton
•Interactions between society and nature are:
–Cognitive: how we think about nature
–Behavioral: how we act in relation to nature
–Physiological: the actual physical effects of our relationship with nature
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•Nature is both a dependent and independent variable
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Summary
•In this lecture we discussed …
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•How the Judeo-Christian tradition, individualism, and patriarchy can be seen as creating a world
view that legitimates – even encourages – environmental exploitation
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•In the next lecture, we…
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•Discuss the ideology of environmental concern
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Citations Used in This Lecture
•Dunlap, R. and W. Catton. 1979. “Environmental Sociology.” Annual Review of Sociology 5:243-273.
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•Dunlap, R. and W. Catton. 1994. “Struggling with Human Exemptionalism: The Rise, Decline and
Revitalization of Environmental Sociology.” The American Sociologist Spring, 5-30.