In Search of an Ecological Approach to Research: A Meditation on Topos

Abstract

Ecophilosophers suggest that the achievement of environmental sustainability requires a transformation in worldview, from a modern to an ecological worldview. This suggestion poses a very interesting challenge for researchers in environmental disciplines. What would research look like that is grounded in an ecological worldview? What would itmean not simply to do ecological research but to do research ecologically? More critically, how can research that is focused on environmental concerns be conducted in away that embodies the characteristics of an ecological worldview? This article outlines the way in which one researcher tangled with and came to terms with these questions andprovides an overview of the resultant ecological approach to research.