Jere Northrop leads our investigation:
How do we get people to think ecologically?
Jere: For me the answer to this question has two parts or aspects. The first aspect has to do with a view that the universe and all of its constituents are alive, and that they manifest some form of consciousness. I have struggled to explain this philosophically and scientifically for most of my life and you can see this in some of the references in the Language of Wisdom section of Math 4 Wisdom. For example see the first six pages of Philosophers Dream.
The second aspect involves actually working with ecological systems. This comprises being in Nature and observing Nature, the woods, forests, grasslands, wetlands, and aquatic environments. But it also comprises using this knowledge in the design, construction, and operation of ecotechnology systems to solve the real world problems of food production and the sustainable management of wastes and wastewaters. To get a photographic sense of this look at the photo journey section of my resume, Photoresume
Specific examples of projects that anyone can get involved with are presented in the TimberFish Technologies section. TimberFish Technologies
Andrius: Jere, I think that's a very helpful, practical break down into those two parts. A next step could be to survey who has had some success in championing these aspects: Theorists and Practitioners. And then we could try to identify what is resonating with others. I also think that your photos are very helpful, informative, communicative.
Andrius: Jere, I am wondering, in what sense ecological thinking takes place in nature, and in what sense it is natural or not for human beings? For humans, in my understanding, we have a stark choice, which we often ignore, as to whether we live centered in ourselves, within this system, or centered in God, which is to say, in the spirit in which we are one, beyond this system. It is a life work to live harmoniously, not just in terms of the first and second minds, What and How, but in terms of the third mind, Why.
Andrius: Jere, we can also ask, who would be interested in this investigation? Who could contribute meaningfully? Who is already considering this question? We could reach out to them, hear from them, speak with them, include them. Searching on "ecological thinking" I found:
- https://ecoscenography.com for theatre artists and designers who are interested in bringing an ecological focus to the performing arts. Their leader is Tanja Beer in Australia. She is the author of Ecoscenography: An Introduction to Ecological Design for Performance. They have a Facebook group. Here are their thougths on ecological thinking.
- In 2009, Lila Pine of Ryerson University led a New Media class, Research for Experience Design, which included an emphasis on ecological thinking. There is a blog and syllabus.
- The home page has a post What is ecological thinking? It is think holistically, to understand the connectedness of things, to think responsibly. Ecological thinking takes its cue from the Great Law of the Haudenosaunee which urges the present generation to live sustainably for the benefit of the next seven generations.
- They quote Mitchel Resnick that to think ecologically is to think like a "walking tree", following the strategy of the learning three-cycle:
- Test Randomly (send out roots in all directions)
- Evaluate (determine which roots find the best soil)
- Elect (choose which direction to move, based on the information from the roots)”
- They note William McDonough and Michael Braungart's manifesto for ecologically intelligent design, "Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things".
- They describe ecological thinking as a (third mind) synthesis of the creative (first mind) and critical (second mind), where the latter two are described by Robert Harris, author of Creative Problem Solving: A Step-by-Step Approach. So it is interesting that they describe ecological thinking in terms of cognizance.
- EcoJesuit develops global communication for Jesuits and lay collaborators to share existing engagements and advocacy and learn about ecological commitment to change and right relations with creation.
- Kevin Simler writes about ecological thinking as focusing on the game and its system, its niches and roles rather than the players and their stories and personalities.
- University of Copenhagen Center for Applied Ecological Thinking works with companies, organizations and government institutions to bring humanistic climate and environmental research into play in current debates and concrete transition challenges.
Andrius: Jere, perhaps I could create a new page on Discourse to collect instances where people are active in ecological discourse. Another set of examples is in the corporate sphere. You mention 
ESG: Environmental, social and governance and there is also Socially responsible investing and impact investing.
Andrius: Jere, I look forward to talking with you. One direction that I believe may be productive is to clarify with others what is meant by ecological thinking? and can the various strands be related? Thus there is one strand by which ecological thinking is given by the third mind, cognizance, Consciousness. But there is another strand by which ecological thinking is given by the first mind, the Unconscious, especially as the feminine victim of the bullying masculine second mind, the Conscious. There is a strand where ecological thinking is a resistance to oppression. And there are more strands. But perhaps they are related? I would reach out to Lovers of Wisdom to sort out and see to what extent the various strands can be related.
Andrius: Another source of ideas is environmental ethics.
Ethics is a key deliverable for Wondrous Wisdom and ecology is a rich, practical source of ethical thinking.