Ecological Thinking is a thought process that simply means seeing the bigger picture. In the sense of “ecology”, it is keeping a mind that acknowledges that certain actions will have certain repercussions and that all pieces of the environment must work together in harmony.
This process will eventually lead to a most useful and most productive solution. This is in direct opposition to “Linear Thinking”, which involves step-by-step sequence that needs a response before progression in this process is possible. While Linear Thinking works in absolutes, Ecological Thinking works in relativity and harmony.
This style of thinking would imply that one would be able to maintain and sustain. It would be the willingness to change and to be open-minded. It is also a holistic viewpoint, that proposes that all elements of an environment are interconnected.
Sources:
1. Resnick, Michael. Thinking Like a Tree (and Other Forms of Ecological Thinking) <http://llk.media.mit.edu/courses/readings/thinking-like-tree.pdf>
2. Keiny, Shoshana. Ecological Thinking: a New Approach to Educational Change. Lanham: University Press of America, 2002
3. Code, Lorraine. Ecological Thinking: the Politics of Epistemic Location. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
4. Ulrich, Werner. Some Difficulties of Ecological Thinking, Considered From a Critical Systems Perspective: A Plea for Critical Holism. Plenum Publishing Corporation, New York, 1993.
5. <http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/william_mcdonough_on_cradle_to_cradle_design.html>
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