Barbiero Giuseppe

Affective Ecology is the branch of ecology that deals with our connecting with Nature. Its epistemological statute is interdisciplinary and founded upon two scientific hypotheses and a pedagogical theory: the biophilia hypothesis (Kellert & Wilson, 1993), the Gaia hypothesis (Volk, 1997) and the theory of multiple intelligences (Gardner, 1999). Starting from this theoretical framework, we have evolved a programme of experimental research that has enabled us to make a number of observations regarding the fascination that Nature exercises upon our psyche. Fascination may indeed account for the affective bond that establishes between human beings and Nature in some circumstances and that may also provide a powerful emotive lever favouring of an ethic of sustainability.

References

Gardner, H. (1999) Intelligence Reframed. New York, NY: Basic Books, pp. 48-52.

Kellert, S.R., and Wilson, E.O. (1993) The Biophilia Hypothesis. Wahington, DC: Island Press

Volk, T. (1998) Gaia’s Body. New York, NY: Copernicus.

http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biofilia

Gaia is a myth.

Gaia is the planet Earth herself. Mother Earth is an archetype deeply rooted into our psyche, present in virtually all cultures and dates back to the Neolithic age. In ancient Greek cosmogony, Gaia (Γαiα) or Gea (Γῆ) is the starter of life: the Olympic Gods and all living creatures descend from Gaia. She renews herself with each season: she is always a virgin and always fertile. Gaia knows the mysteries of life and death: she is a Goddess of wisdom (σοφία). Gaia has many epiphanies, like Demeter, as stated by her name (Δημήτηρ). Demeter, together with her other identities, Persephoneand Kore, is the core of the Eleusinian Mysteries, the ancient religious rites that celebrated the cyclic seasons of life: Persephone’s Winter, Persephone being the wife of Ade and Queen of the Underworld, and the awaking of Kore in the Spring, Kore being the fertile Goddess of vegetation. It is possible to retrace the same myth structure to the Celts, with the epic deeds of Eire and Fodhla, and in the Christian world, where Saint Mary embodies the virgin, the mother and the wisdom.

Gaia is a scientific hypothesis.

The myth of Gaia was borrowed to illustrate a scientific hypothesis: life has a significant effect upon the environment (influential Gaia), at least upon the Earth’s surfaces and the atmosphere. It is more difficult to establish whether the biosphere influences the abiotic world in a stabilising way. If it were so, negative feedback loops should prevail in the dominant connections between biota and the physical world (optimizing Gaia). Whatever the true nature of Gaia may be – influential or optimising –, the Gaia hypothesis gave rise to a heuristic field of study: Geophysiology, which considers the biosphere and its matrices (atmosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere) as a single super-organism sui generis.

Gaia is an ecological framework.

The rocks, the minerals, the water, the air, the soil and its invisible inhabitants, the fungi, the plants, the animals: each creature, living or not, can speak to us, can help us feel at ease within our common home (Gê oikouméne). We are all children of Gaia, children of a very long and uninterrupted evolutionary history. We feel that we belong, not only to the human race, but also to the biosphere itself, and we can empathise deeply with the sacredness of each living form. Our research focuses on geophysiological perspective in sustainable development education and management for becoming aware of our responsibility towards ourselves and to all creatures, a responsibility that derives from being the species that knows the other species.

References

Gimbutas, M. (1990) Il linguaggio della Dea. Longanesi, Milano.

Goodenough, U. (1998) The Sacred Depths of Nature. Oxford University Press, New York.

Kerenyi, K. (2009) Gli dei e gli eroi della Grecia, Il Saggiatore, Milano.

Kump, L.R., Kasting, J.F., & Crane R.G. (2009) The Earth System. 3^rd ed. Prentice Hall, New Jersey.

Lovelock, J. (1981) Gaia. Bollati Boringhieri, Torino.

Margulis, L. (1998) Symbiotic Planet. Basic Books, New York.

Monaghan, P. (1987) Le donne nei miti e nelle leggende, Red, Como.

Schneider, S.H. (2001) A Goddess of Earth or the Imagination of a Man? Science,291, 1906-1907.

Volk, T. (2001) Il corpo di Gaia. Utet, Torino.

Biophilia is “the innate tendency to focus upon life and lifelike forms, and in some instances to affiliate with them emotionally” (Wilson, 2002, p.134). Human tendencies to love and take care of nature are affected by attention, i.e. the ability to focus on natural stimuli effortlessly, actually to be fascinated by nature, and empathy, i.e. to join emotionally to the various life forms, and to partecipate to their condition in differentiated manner. Our research focuses on fascination, asymmetric empathy, and ecological mindfulness:

• fascination, is a type of attention that does not require any force from the individual’s behalf and is resistant to fatigue (Kaplan, 1995). Fascination can arise from being in the company of animals or plants or simply immersion in Nature. Exposure to natural environments allows one’s directed attention to rest and to restore from a state of mental fatigue.
• asymmetric empathy is the ability to feel “emotional expressions” of animals, plants and special natural loci.
• ecological mindfulness is a way to stimulate fascination and asymmetric empathy. If biophilia is a set of phylogenetically adaptive learning rules, it could constitute the physiological basis and the psychological potential from which naturalistic intelligence and ecological mindfulness emerges.

References

Wilson, E.O. (1993) Biophilia and the Conservation Ethic. In Kellert, S.R., and Wilson, E.O. (eds.) The Biophilia Hypothesis. Wahington, DC: Island Press, pp. 31-41.

Kaplan S. (1995) The restorative effects of nature: Toward an integrative framework. Journal of Environmental Psychology 15: 169-182.

Wilson E.O. (2002) The Future of Life. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biofilia

Naturalist intelligence is the eighth manifestation of human intelligence according to the classification posed by Howard Gardner in his Multiple Intelligence Theory. Naturalistic Intelligence is defined as the ability to connect, on a profound level, with non human living beings and to appreciate the effect that such relationship have upon us and our external environment (Gardner, 1999). Naturalist intelligence is the full realisation of our inborn biophilic potential to connect to the natural world, to pay it attention, to care and to empathise with it.

Reference

Gardner, H. (1999) Intelligence Reframed. New York, NY: Basic Books, pp. 48-52.

Source of inspiration of Affective Ecology is Harmonia “the goddess of harmony” is the daughter of Aphrodite “the goddess of love” and Ares “the god of war” in greek mythology. Her brothers were Deimos “the god of terror” and  Phobos “the god of fear” as well as Eros “the god of passionate love” and Anteros “the god of requited love”. On her wedding day, Aphrodite gave Harmonia a necklace that conferred irresistible beauty to whoever wore it. The necklace, created by Hephaestus “the god of smiths”,  was  originally  made  as Zeus’s  love-gift for  Europa,  the sister of Harmonia’s bridegroom. Athena “the goddess of rationality” gave Harmonia a golden robe, woven by the Graces, which conferred divine dignity on its wearer, as well as a set of flutes. However, according to Hyginus, a Roman mythographer, the robe was impregnated with a potion that would poison the descendants of Harmonia. Athena did this because she did not accept that harmony could rise from the transcendence of the conflict between two such passionate emotional symbols: Love and War. In her old age, Harmonia would be transformed into a snake, a symbol of the cyclic nature and regenerative force of Nature. The story of Harmonia teaches us three things: (1) that the most important evolutionary leaps in the history of Gaia (i.e., the origin of the eukaryote cell and the birth of the metazoan) arose out of conflict, the solution to which was not a compromise, but a new equilibrium that transcended the conflicting parts and that expanded the array of future possibilities; (2) that Nature always tends to reach new equilibriums by means of successive cycles; (3) that a new alliance between culture and Nature is possible. Today, we can sense the necessity to regain a connection with Nature, and to learn to “unit our hearts” (from the Latin for concord: cum cordis), just like Harmonia in the conflicts of Nature.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonia

Biophilic Design is an applied science that takes the most recent discoveries about the relationship between Man and Nature into account when designing artificial environments, with the scope of rendering man-made spaces more coherent with innate human biophilia. It is well known that application of Biophilic Design reduces stress, stimulates creativity and clear thinking, improves physical and psychological well-being and accelerates healing. Considering the relentless process of global urbanisation, these qualities are becoming to take centre stage in the design of urban spaces, both in architectonic and interior design. All over the world, academics, scientists and architects are working together to discover the ways in which Nature influences psychological wellbeing in Man and to identify which characteristics of the natural world should be included in artificial man-made spaces in order to make them more pleasing to stay in. Our previous studies of biophilia in children (2006-2012) have demonstrated that direct contact with Nature can stimulate the regeneration of directed attention and improve empathic qualities in the child. We have thus identified experimental protocols that allow us to assess, with a good error margin, the biophilic qualities of an environment, be it natural or artificial. The aim of the present research project is to develop a conceptual framework for biophilic design, reducing the gap between scientific research and its translation into functional applications starting with the 14 patterns of Biophilic Design proposed by the architectural consultancy company Terrapin Bright Green (2014). These 14 patterns have a wide range of application in relation to both indoor and outdoor environments, and we believe that they can be transferred and implemented in creative and methodical ways in architectural projects and within the domain of town planning. Our research project aims: (1) to develop basic concepts of biophilic design such that they can be used to improve the environments in which we live and, in turn, our health, productivity and wellbeing; (2) to provide the scientific basis for consulting services for town planning, architectural and interior design.

http://www.biosphera2.it/

Source of inspiration for Biophilic Design is Lorelei, a rock on the eastern bank of the Rhine River near St. Goarshausen, Germany, situated on the narrowest point of the river between Switzerland and the North Sea. For a long time, Lorelei was a place deeply feared by navigators due to the very strong currents and the presence of rocks below the waterline. According to an ancient legend the Lorelei’s song warns navigators to carefully navigate this dangerous section of the Rhine. However, At the dawn of the Industrial Age, in a period in which humanity was intent on freeing itself from dependence upon Nature, Lorelei was transformed into a perilous siren and her song was believed to bewitch men and bring death upon them. Today, in the post-industrial age, while we may feel the necessity to regain our connection with Nature, we are also learning to listen to Lorelei’s song.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorelei