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Nature, genetics and the biophilia connection: Exploring linkages with social work values and practice
Abstract
Social work's notion of environment and its environmental responsibilities have always been narrowly defined. The profession has tended to either neglect natural environmental issues or accept shallow ecological conceptualizations of nature as something other, quite separate from the human enterprise and/or outside the reach of social work activity. The Biophilia Hypothesis, first articulated by then Harvard evolutionary biologist E. O. Wilson in 1984, offers social work an fundamentally different view of the person/environment construct and argues for a primary shift in the way the profession views its relationship with the natural world. This article traces the conceptual development of Biophilia theory and reviews pivotal empirical evidence explicitly arguing for the
... In the first decade of the 21st century, social work practice experiences and cases of ecological marginality understanding and interventions have been enriched globally, providing a practical basis for the development of eco-social work. The proliferation of social work publications and research papers on the theme of green and sustainable development has contributed to the reproduction of concepts such as environmental social work, green social work, and eco-social work (Besthorn & Saleebey, 2008). ...
Eco-social work is a new field of social work practice and research. The discussions about nature, ecology, environment, sustainable development, and indigenous eco-social knowledge gradually became a new direction for social work localization. Eco-social work emphasizes the intersubjectivity and the harmonious coexistence with nature, and the sustainability of welfare integration at the value level. It is the need of citizens to enhance environmental protection awareness and farmers and nomads to protect their ecological rights and interests. Eco-social work can integrate theoretical perspectives, such as ecosystem theory, strengths perspective, intersectionality perspective, and green development, to promote the innovation and application of the social work practice approaches of harmonious coexistence with nature. With professional, social, and cultural-ecological knowledge, eco-social work can build a bridge between the national ecological development plan and the ecological needs of traditional livelihoods. Besides, more knowledge of eco-social work will promote the effectiveness of environmental governance and the achievement of ecological welfare.
... It often appears to us and we have been told repeatedly that there is no alternative to the global religion of secular salvation through international markets of conspicuous consumption. And yet, many noted social critics, economists, political scientists and proponents from a vast array of non-governmental organization have been saying for decades that curbing overconsumption and moving toward a more sustainable and socially just economy is not only possible but is absolutely necessary if the world community is to avoid catastrophic environmental and social upheaval and fi nd ways to live in harmony (Besthorn, 2000(Besthorn, , 2001(Besthorn, , 2002aBesthorn & Canda, 2002;Besthorn & Saleebey, 2004;Eckersley, 1998Eckersley, , 1999International Institute for Environment and Development, 1998;Kasser, 2002;Michaelis, 2000;Myers, 2000;United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, 1999;United Nations Human Development Programme, 1998;World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). The earth' s carrying capacity simply cannot support an American-made style of gargantuan consumptive excess. ...
Globalised consumer culture and its corresponding ethos that accumulation of material possessions equates to happiness are having a profound impact on the physical, social and emotional health of human beings. For social work practitioners and field educators the issue is how we balance the charge to serve our clients without unwittingly forcing them into a system that is designed by its very nature to increase their dissatisfaction and alienation. This essay discusses these concerns and offers some initial suggestions for how social work may respond.
This research aims to explore the role of nature therapy guides in successfully leading nature-based experiences and, through that effort, allowing their clients to achieve their mental health and well-being goals. Understanding the role a nature therapy guide plays can, in turn, aid policymakers, individuals and communities in promoting positive mental health and well-being outcomes, supporting conservation efforts, and improving access to nature experiences. Here a nature therapy guide is defined as a trained professional who helps individuals or groups connect with nature to promote mental health and well-being. Nature therapy guides may have a variety of backgrounds, including naturalists, ecologists, psychologists, or healthcare professionals, with most of which completing some form of nature therapy qualification. Nature therapy guides may work in a variety of settings, such as parks, forests, beaches, or gardens, and may tailor their approach to different populations, such as children, adults, or seniors. They may also incorporate elements of ecotherapy, which emphasises the connection between human well-being and the health of the natural environment. To this end, this research answers two interrelated research questions. Firstly what motivations have guides found that bring the general public (i.e., clients) to them and, in turn,
The study presented in this paper investigated the impact of embodied and self-reflected virtual reality (VR) experiences on engineering design students' cognition and perception of nature-relatedness during the early conceptual design phase. Results showed that students who explored the design environment as a bird (embodied) or human (self) avatar were significantly more likely to explore a larger design space indicated by more semantically unique design concepts compared to students without the VR experience. Network graphs of the syntactic connection of design concepts revealed notable differences among the three groups. The bird avatar group showed more connections to nature-related and social concepts, while more technical concepts were central for the human avatar group, and concepts about money were more central to the control group. Finally, students who embodied the bird avatar had a significantly stronger perception of connection to nature compared to the human avatar and control group, with a small to medium effect size. The results suggest that embodied (as a bird) and self-reflected (as a human) VR experiences can enhance engineering students' design thinking and perception of connection to nature.
INTRODUCTION: There is an undeniable connection between humans and animals, with the relationship between the two being well documented across the centuries of history and storytelling.METHODS: This article outlines a scoping review of the literature and research exploring the history, efficacy, and currency of animal assisted therapies (AATs) as they have developed in recent decades within human services and social work programmes.FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS: Archaeological research suggests a mutualistic relationship has existed between canines and humans dating back 140,000 years evolving to deepened connections between animals and behaviourally modern humans including 15,000 years of animal domestication. These connections have generated relationships where animals both work for and with humans, assuming diverse roles ranging from service animal to companion pet, from livestock to live entertainment, from symbolic idol to science experiment and, as demonstrated in this article, as co-therapist or therapeutic medium in psychotherapeutic, human services and social work practice processes.
Edward Osborne Wilson sformułował hipotezę biofilii, według której biofilia jest tendencją do skupiania się na życiu i procesach podobnych do życia. Status tej hipotezy jest kontrowersyjny zarówno w naukach przyrodniczych, społecznych i środowiskowych, jak i w etyce ekologicznej. Na płaszczyźnie metodologicznej stawiany jest m.in. zarzut niefalsyfikowalności; etycy ekologiczni krytykują hipotezę za jej antropocentryczne implikacje. W artykule proponujemy filozoficzną interpretację biofilii jako formy biomorfizmu, według którego pojęcie bytu substancjalnego, wartości i normy moralności jest oparte na paradygmacie bytu żywego.
Given the large proportion of time spent by the average person indoors, it is imperative to have an understanding of the impacts of long-term and immersive exposure to a variety of architectural features in order to develop a holistic understanding of the impact of building architecture on human function, health, and wellbeing. This review article identifies and categorizes the elements of building architecture that have been demonstrated through empirical research to affect human psychological and physiological function. The architectural stimuli in question are limited to those for which a biological, and thus evolutionary, response has been empirically demonstrated. The intention is to identify architectural stimuli for which responses are biologically ingrained to ensure their applicability both cross-culturally and independent of personal experience. The research indicating the impacts of the built environment on human psychology and physiology is extensive and robust in certain areas and weaker in others. Architectural design features involving light, colour, complexity, viewing nature, olfaction, audition, and some forms of geometry, have been demonstrated to influence human behaviour, health, happiness, and physiological function in myriad ways. However, there are many unsubstantiated affirmations in the literature as to the effects of pareidolia, thigmotaxis, object affordance, the Golden Rectangle, and somatosensory stimuli in architecture. Thus, it has been demonstrated that architecture can impact human health, happiness, and physiological function, and be leveraged to produce specific physical and behavioral outcomes, however, further research is required to validate much of the conjecture currently found in the literature.
Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit „Environmental Social Work“, einer Form von Sozialer Arbeit, die sich aus einer ökozentrischen Perspektive heraus mit der Verknüpfung von sozialen und ökologischen Problemlagen auseinandersetzt. Unter dem Leitbild „Ecological Justice“ möchte Environmental Social Work die gesamte Soziale Arbeit reformieren, sodass nicht länger nur das Wohlergehen aller Menschen, sondern das der gesamten Natur angestrebt wird.
Es wird der Frage nachgegangen, wie Environmental Social Work in der Praxis umgesetzt werden kann. Der besondere Schwerpunkt liegt dabei auf der praktischen Gestaltung der Mikroebene. Ziel ist es, zu klären, wie die bestehenden Methoden der Sozialen Arbeit genutzt werden können, um die natürliche Umwelt in die Einzelfallarbeit mit einzubeziehen und einen Naturbezug bei den Adressat*innen anzuregen.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased social isolation and separation from the natural world. Social work practices should be more inclusive of the natural environment in the person-in-environment framework. Ecosocial work addresses the importance of the natural environment in social work practice. Interventions for engaging the natural environment in social work practice are explored. Connecting to the natural environment can be beneficial for personal and professional growth. The COVID-19 pandemic is a crisis that has provided time for reflection to reassess our relationship to nature. Social workers have the opportunity to incorporate biophilia and deep ecology for personal and professional growth. Moving forward to a post-pandemic world, recommendations to further engage with nature, particularly in urban settings, are considered.
This article broadens and clarifies the way sodal work conceptualizes its ecological/system constructs and the professional commitments that flow from them. It utilizes important insight from a contemporary, radical environmental philosophy-ecofeminism-to search for language and descriptions that may help the profession begin the process of formulating and depicting an expanded ecological model of practice. This article sketches the essential philosophical premises of a revisioned ecological model and offers suggestions for interpreting and applying this model. Specifcally, it gives attention to critiquing the interrelated oppression stemming from modem economic theory and practice, and ways in which social workers may collaborate with communities and individuals to bring about change.