Definitions from book

Question 1

Green politics

Answer 1

A political ideology (sometimes called ecoligism, political ecology or ‘greenism’) that gives priority to the promotion of ecological sustainability.

Question 2

Pastoralism

Answer 2

A belief in the virtues of rural existence: simplicity, community and a closeness to nature, in contrast to the allegedly corrupting influence of urban and industrialised life.

Question 3

Environmentalism

Answer 3

A concern about the natural environment and particularly about reducing environmental degradation: a policy orientation rather than an ideological stance (unlike ecologism).

Question 4

Humanism

Answer 4

A philosophy that gives moral priority to the achievement of human needs and ends.

Question 5

Ecology

Answer 5

The study of the relationship between living organisms and the environment; ecology stresses the network of relationships that sustains all forms of life.

Question 6

Homeostasis

Answer 6

The tendency of a system, especially the physiological systems of higher animals, to maintain internal equilibrium.

Question 7

Ecocentrism

Answer 7

A theoretical orientation that gives priority to the maintenance of ecological balance rather than the achievement of human ends.

Question 8

Anthropocentrism

Answer 8

A belief that human needs and interests are of overriding moral and philosophical importance; the opposite of ecocentrism.

Question 9

Shallow ecology

Answer 9

A green ideological perspective that harnesses the lessons of ecology to human needs and ends, and is associated with values such as sustainability and conservation.

Question 10

Deep ecology

Answer 10

A green ideological perspective that rejects anthropocentrism and gives priority to the maintenance of nature, and is associated with values such as biocentric equality, diversity and decentralisation.

Question 11

Scientism

Answer 11

The belief that scientific method is the only value-free and objective means of establishing truth, and is applicable to all fields of learning.

Question 12

Holism

Answer 12

A belief that the whole is more important than its parts; holism implies that understanding is gained by studying relationships among the parts.

Question 13

System

Answer 13

A collection of parts that operate through a network of reciprocal interactions and therby constitute a complex whole.

Question 14

Gaia hypothesis

Answer 14

The theory that the earth is best understood as a living entity that acts to maintain its own existence.

Question 15

Entropy

Answer 15

All ‘closed’ system tend to decay or disintegrate because they are not sustained by external inputs.

Question 16

Fossil fuels

Answer 16

Fuels that are formed from the decomposition of dead organisms, making them rich in carbon, examples include oil, natural gas and coal.

Question 17

The ‘tragedy of the commons’ parable

Answer 17

The theory that the ‘global commons’ will be subject to inevitable degradation because individuals, businesses and states place self-interest before the collective good.

Question 18

SUstainability

Answer 18

The capacity of a system to maintain its health and continue in existence over a period of time.

Question 19

Modernist ecology

Answer 19

A reformist tendency within green politics that seeks to reconcile ecology with the key features of capitalist modernity.

Question 20

Social ecology

Answer 20

A broad tendency within green politics that links ecological sustainability to radical social change, in the eco-anarchist principle that human communities should be structured according to ecological principles.

Question 21

Futurity

Answer 21

A concern about the future, implying that actions in the present should be judged by their impact on posterity or future generations

Question 22

Ecological stewardship

Answer 22

The notion that each generation has a duty to protect and conserve the natural environment for the benefit of generations to come.

Question 23

Animal rights

Answer 23

Moral entitlements that are based on the belief that as animals are non-human ‘persons’, they deserve the same consideration (at least in certain areas) as human beings.

Question 24

Speciesism

Answer 24

A belief in the superiority of one species over other species, though the denial of their moral significance.

Question 25

Materialism

Answer 25

An emphasis on matrial needs and their satisfaction, usually implying a link between pleasure or happiness and the level of material consumption.

Question 26

Green capitalism

Answer 26

The idea that a reliance on the capitalist market mechanism will deliver ecologically sustainable outcomes, usually linked to assumptions about capitalism’s consumer responsiveness.

Question 27

Consumer sovereignty

Answer 27

The notions, based on the theory of competitive capitalism, the consumer choice is the ultimately undermining factor within a market economy.

Question 28

Biocentric equality

Answer 28

The principle that all organisms and entities in the biosphere are of equal moral worth.

Question 29

Biodiversity

Answer 29

The range of species within a biotic community, often thought to be linked to its health and stability

Question 30

Metaphysics

Answer 30

The branch of philosophy that is concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of existence or being.