The Real Significance of Ecofeminism

Source: https://www.weact.org/2016/06/growing-the-roots-of-ecofeminism/

The preceding accounts identifies eight sorts of connectionsbetween the domination of women and the domination of nature thathave been defended by ecofeminists. It also indicates both generallyand specifically (in terms of the four essays included in thissection) the nature of the challenges that acceptance of theseconnections poses for contemporary feminism, environmentalism, andenvironmental philosophy. But if the power and promise of ecologicalfeminism runs as deep as many ecofeminists suppose, there must beimplications of ecofeminism for mainstream philosophy as well. Whatare some of these?

The historical lmks suggest that data from the social sciences onwomen, development, and the environment are important undertakings inmany areas of philosophy. For instance, in ethics such data raiseimportant issues about anthropocentric and androcentric bias. Canmainstream normative ethical theories generate an environmental ethicthat is not male-biased? In epistemology, data on the"indigenous technical knowledge" of women m forestry, watercollection, farming and food production (see Warren 1988, 1991a)raise issues about women's "epistemic privilege" and the need for"feminist standpoint epistemologies." In metaphysics, data on thecross-cultural variability of women-nature connectionsraise issues about the social constructions of conceptions of bothwomen and nature and the human-nature dichotomy of at leastdominant Western philosophy (see Warren 1990, this section).
Inpolitical philosophy, data on the inferior standards of living ofwomen globally raise issues about political theories and theorizing: What roles do unequal distributions of power and privilege play inthe maintainance of systems of domination over both women and nature. How do they affect the content of political theories and themethodology of political theorizing? In the history of philosophy,data on the historical inferiorization of what is both female-genderand nature identified raise issues about the andthropocentric andandrocentic biases of philosophical theories in any given timeperiod. In philosophy of science, particularly philosophy of biology,such data raise issues about the relationships between feminism andscience, particularly ecological science. As Carolyn Merchant asks,"Is there a set of assumptions basic to the science of ecology thatalso holds implications for the status of women? Is there anecological ethic that is also a feminist ethic?" (Merchant 1985,229). Are there important parallels between contemporary ecofeministethics and ecosystem ecology that suggest ways in which the two areengaged in mutually supportive projects (see Warren and Cheney 1991)?These are the sorts of questions ecofeminism raises for traditionalfields in mainstream philosophy.

Perhaps the most serious challenges to mainstream philosophy areat the level of conceptual analysis and theory. Ecofeminism raisessignificant issues about the philosophical conceptions of the self,knowledge and the knower, reason and rationality, objectivity, and ahost of favored dualisms that form the backbone of philosophicaltheorizing, even the conception of philosophy itself. These notionswill need to be reexamined for posslble male-gender bias. Thechallenge to philosophy is to replace conceptual schemes, theories,and practices that currently feminize nature and naturalize women tothe mutual detriment of both with ones that do not. That is whatecofeminists generally, and the authors in this section specifically,argue is needed from feminism, environmentalism, environmentalphilosophy, and philosophy.

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Karen J. Warren is a feminist philosopher who has published essayson ecofeminism and edited several special issues on ecofeminism forHypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy and the AmericanPhilosophical Association Newsletter on Feminism andPhilosophy. Warren is completing three books on ecologicalfeminism, one co-authored with Jim Cheney and entitledEcological Feminism, and two anthologies on ecofeminism.Warren also conducts workshops on environmental ethics and criticalthinking for elementary and secondary school teachers and students,and is co-creator of an environmental ethics simulation game.
An earlier version of this essay appeared in the AmericanPhilosophical Association Newsletter on Feminism and Philosophy (Fall 1991).