Universe of environmental education

linked to presocratic philosophy

from the perspective

of complexity

Universo de la educación ambiental vinculada a la

filosofía de los presocráticos desde

la complejidad

How to cite: Camacho, Q. C. L.. (2024). Universe of Environmental Education Linked to the Philosophy

of the Presocratics from a Complexity Perspective. Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 5(10),

205-215.

205

Carlos Liborio Camacho Quintero*

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7552-5245

Mérida, Mérida state / Venezuela

* Dr. in Advanced Management, Universidad Fermín Toro, Venezuela. Dr. in Education, Universidad Pedagó-

gica Experimental Libertador, Venezuela. Master's in Business Management, Universidad Fermín Toro, Ve-

nezuela. Specialization in Telematics, Universidad Nacional Abierta, Venezuela. Specialization in Labor Law,

Universidad de Los Andes, Venezuela. Systems Engineer, Instituto Politécnico Santiago Mariño, Venezuela.

Bachelor in Business Administration, Universidad Nacional Abierta, Venezuela. Lawyer, Universidad Nacional

Experimental de los Llanos Occidentales Ezequiel Zamora, Venezuela. Public Accountant, Universidad Na-

cional Abierta, Venezuela. Email: clcamachoq71@gmail.com

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 5(10), 205-215

Elecronic ISSN: 2665-038X

Received: March / 20 / 2024 Reviewed: March / 22 / 2024 Approved: May / 3 /2024

Abstract

The critical review of the development and progress of philosophical humanity where the pre-

Socratics instructed the so-called myth to the logos, where rational thought begins. In this way,

man is the place par excellence where nature and human beings converge, occupying the thin-

kers of Miletus towards the basic principle of things, nature or the element that makes up the

world and universe. From the methodological point of view, the study is located within the qua-

litative paradigm in which the dialectical hermeneutic method is used. However, the absence of

ethics and ignorance of the sensitivity of the habitat has allowed the irrational destruction of

human beings in their path. This is how Aristotle chronologically organized the preclassical his-

tory of Western philosophy where the Greeks inherit objects from the Egyptians and Babylo-

nians. In the same way, they give this heritage a vigorous effort provided with lucidity, reason

and logic, likewise, it corresponds to the improvement of environmental education, by virtue of

these points, the need arises to consider a study oriented to document the environmental con-

cern that show their relationships, ecological behavior and cognitive models from the pre-So-

cratics.

Keywords: Environmental education, development, progress, philosophy, pre-Socratics, nature,

human being.

Resumen

La revisión crítica del desarrollo y progreso de la humanidad filosófica en donde los presocrá-

ticos instruyeron al llamado mito al logos, donde se inicia el pensamiento racional. De esta ma-

nera, el hombre es el lugar por excelencia donde converge naturaleza y ser humano, ocupó a

los pensadores de Mileto hacia el principio básico de las cosas, la naturaleza o elemento que

conforma el mundo y universo. Desde el punto de vista metodológico, el estudio se ubica den-

tro del paradigma cualitativo en el cual se hace uso del método hermenéutico dialéctico. Sin

embargo, la ausencia de ética y el desconocimiento de la sensibilidad del hábitat ha permitido

la destrucción irracionalmente del ser humano en su paso, fue así como Aristóteles organizó

cronológicamente la historia preclásica de la filosofía occidental donde los griegos heredan ob-

jetos de los egipcios y babilonios, del mismo modo, le dan a esa herencia un pujante esfuerzo

proporcionado lucidez, razón y lógica, asimismo, corresponde al mejoramiento de la educación

ambiental, en virtud de estos señalamientos, surge la necesidad de plantearse un estudio orien-

tado a documental la preocupación ambiental que muestre sus relaciones, conducta ecológica

y modelos cognitivos desde los presocráticos.

Palabras clave: Educación ambiental, desarrollo, progreso, filosofía, presocráticos, naturaleza, ser humano.

Introduction

Given the complexity of modern society, characterized by advances in technology, sciences,

mass media, as well as issues of poverty, social deterioration, and ecological damage to the

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Carlos Liborio Camacho Quintero

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planet, an integral education with agile educational management under a strategic approach

that includes citizen participation is required.

Referencing Morin (2003), a complex vision understands reality and manifests simultaneously

from all possible perspectives, seeking to channel the best possible strategy in a complex and

global manner. Dividing it into small parts to facilitate study limits the scope of knowledge, mea-

ning that to understand it, we cannot be reductionist or holistic. Instead, we must adapt to re-

flexivity, requiring public organizations to reform their adaptive capacity to minimize harmful

environmental effects.

The genesis of social sciences embraces the complexity of reality and the diversification of theo-

retical and epistemological possibilities. It is transdisciplinary and transdimensional, studying

phenomena related to human reality through economic theories, sociology, political science,

anthropology, geography, history, philosophy, culture, technology, and more. This focus on in-

dividual and collective existence breaks various paradigms set by ideologies and assumptions

of scientific communities.

In achieving an interactive process between man and the environment within the social context,

individuals should focus on respect for nature and environmental awareness. These aspects de-

termine positive activities concerning axiological processes, ways of organizing collectives, in-

terpersonal relationship systems, successful ways of addressing socio-natural problems, methods

of conveying collective feelings, expectations, formative actions, and altruistic and philanthropic

actions.

Humans have coexisted in intimate relation with their environment, leading to interaction in

knowledge construction based on reason and experience. At many points in history, humans

have promoted various approaches in this knowledge construction process. In particular, stu-

dents come to understand concepts and theoretical constructs to solve everyday problems,

from the perspectives of Plato and Aristotle to the current visions of Morin and Cury.

The Presocratics broke away from traditional cognition and reductive knowledge, maintaining

philosophical thought as the center of knowledge transmission, with the goal that transformation

and innovation processes move away from stable schemes and embrace transcomplex and

transdisciplinary perceptions.

Another aspect to consider is the Nuremberg Code, implicitly related to mathematical thought

as a mental structure, conventionally focusing on specific scientific disciplines separated from

each other. While this may help obtain partial knowledge, it maintains and strengthens the se-

paration, even when consuming a large amount of information without real epistemic mea-

ning.

However, the Presocratics champion knowledge, a core aspect of philosophy, emphasizing its

growing importance in modern science from a realistic perspective. The materialist sense of na-

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philosophy from the perspective of complexity

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Carlos Liborio Camacho Quintero

ture benefits humanity from both ethos and pathos, without being solely driven by reason.

It is important to note that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) asserts that

human development places people at the center of development, promoting the potential de-

velopment of individuals, increasing their possibilities, and ensuring the freedom to live the life

they value. Analyzing this, human societies are in constant social change, not only due to te-

chnological advances but also in all aspects related to social development. Hence, human de-

velopment has gradually separated from economic globalization to incorporate other equally

relevant aspects of life, such as culture, which has also redefined its role in development.

The outlined indications of human and philosophical development, as well as complexity, predict

that the ecological crisis will create local and global environmental problems due to overpopu-

lation, pollution, and the destruction of natural resources. These issues impact the health of

ecosystems and the planet as a whole, resulting from the relationship humans have established

with the environment throughout history.

The importance of this article lies in the universe of environmental education linked to the phi-

losophy of the Presocratics from a complexity perspective. Consequently, there is a need for a

study oriented toward a hermeneutic analysis of environmental concern, showing its relations-

hips and ecological behavior, the importance of the Presocratics in nature, and cognitive models

of environmental concern. Therefore, the following questions are considered: (a) Why do we

harm the environment? Have we lost our environmental beliefs? (b) Why do we pollute so much

if we know the damage we cause? Have we lost personal values due to complexity? (c) What

guidelines can be established to generate Presocratic ecological awareness and restore life to

the planet by renewing faith?

Methodology

The development of this article arises from a qualitative study of a hermeneutic-dialectical type,

whose approaches are considered for the fulfillment of the objectives outlined for the research

process. According to Hurtado & Toro (2004), the hermeneutic method is the most appropriate

for the study of human action, where the interpretation and detailed study of significant human

phenomena for man and his environment are involved. This method takes into account the in-

dividual's need to interpret various situations occurring in daily life and their surroundings to

achieve a definitive interpretation.

According to Hurtado & Toro (2004), the hermeneutic method considers the following sugges-

tions: (a) Knowing that human beings are intuitive by nature. (b) Hermeneutic discourse cannot

be formalized; everything must be interpreted. (c) New interpretations must be placed, as

human beings can learn through interaction and commitment. (d) Hermeneutics is deconstruc-

tive because only by deconstructing can life be reconstructed. (e) The hermeneutic method

allows researchers to exchange experiences with the research subjects to obtain data that guide

conceptual frameworks and thus fulfill the objectives of the method that interprets and unders-

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tands the meaning of things.

Moreover, this hermeneutic method is used by social sciences as a fundamental object for re-

search intervention. It is not only applicable to the interpretation of facts, documents, among

others, but also in scientific advances of social reality. This allows a tacit visualization of its field

of action, directing its study of human behavior both individually and generally, through obser-

vation, considering repeating it as many times as possible.

Results

Background

Osorio & Suárez (2020) conducted a study titled “Environmental and Energy Education in Doc-

toral Theses of Angola Defended in Pedagogical Sciences in Cuba” at the Universidade Rainha

Njinga a Mbande in Angola. This research outlined that in the genesis of humanity in the 21st

century, there are enormous challenges to address, such as scientific and technical advance-

ments and the rapid increase in environmental problems that severely affect the planet due to

irresponsible human actions. For this reason, environmental education becomes a priority for

all countries, depending on their level of development. Therefore, the Republic of Angola must

continue its efforts to transform social practices regarding environmental issues, aiming to meet

the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals. These results highlight the importance

of the current work by emphasizing the capacity for transformation and the complexity of de-

velopment in different countries, reaffirming the need to educate new generations for harmo-

nious coexistence among all environmental components.

Arias & Ramírez (2018) presented a scientific article titled “The Organization-Company: A Living

System? Contributions of Complexity Theory and Environmental Philosophy to Administrative

and Organizational Theory.” The purpose was to understand the administrative-organizational

phenomenon in the context of organizational society and environmental crisis. It involves com-

prehending the social organization as a living social system that establishes intricate relationships

with its environment, affecting the development of its operations and processes. They premise

that the living company is flexible in its processes and assumes organizational social responsi-

bility as a strategy to compete and survive in the market amidst a world in crisis, marked by a

society dependent on nature and facing numerous civilizational problems stemming from clas-

sical administrative thought. Nonetheless, they attempt to contribute an epistemic discussion

in the field of Organizational and Administrative Theories, viewed through the theoretical lens

of Complexity and Chaos Theories and Environmental Philosophy.

Environmental Education

Every pedagogical theory implicitly carries a set of educational intentions, axiological and epis-

temological principles, and conceptions about educators and learners, addressing different eras

and schools of thought. Understanding the complexity of the environment as the core of envi-

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philosophy from the perspective of complexity

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Carlos Liborio Camacho Quintero

ronmental education offers a variety of psychological and pedagogical approaches to achieve

a shared conception, recognizing the naturalistic theory since the mid-18th century among its

antecedents.

Rousseau (cited in Leff 2006, p. 679) states, "the relationship between man, education,

school, science, and industry must be exalted in the planetary crisis." According to the author,

since the early 1970s, there has been ecological concern within education, progressively

creating concepts and critical explanations about environmental issues, acquiring an edu-

cational sense.

Although there is no single definition of Environmental Education, most authors agree that this

discipline should have an integrative, holistic, and interdisciplinary approach, where knowledge,

information, and local wisdom are articulated. Likewise, it should encompass an ethical, political,

and pedagogical vision that provides theoretical and practical elements to establish, support,

and enrich knowledge in this area.

Gutiérrez (2011, p. 148) defines Environmental Education as:

...the process that consists of recognizing values and clarifying concepts to foster the

skills and attitudes necessary to understand and appreciate the interrelationships bet-

ween man, his culture, and his biophysical environment. Environmental Education also

entails practicing decision-making and formulating a code of conduct regarding envi-

ronmental quality issues.

Therefore, Environmental Education aspires for humans to understand the complex nature of

the environment resulting from the interaction of biological, physical, social, and cultural com-

ponents. Consequently, it should enable individuals and communities to interpret the interde-

pendence of various elements in space and time to promote a reflective and prudent use of

the planet to meet humanity's needs (Torres, 2006).

Thus, it should be involved as a process that produces changes in individual thought and the

behavior of community or social groups, changes in social and conceptual aspects, attitudes,

and values. Additionally, Environmental Education is ideological, has grand goals, prioritizes

practice, and is immersed in a realm where different paradigms are present. It should also con-

tribute to forming individuals so that their actions do not harm their surrounding environment

and allow them to contribute to the development of the communities they inhabit.

Considering the ideas of Chagollan et al. (2008, p. 17), Environmental Education:

Is the process that consists of bringing people closer to a global conception of the en-

vironment, acquiring knowledge, elucidating values, and developing attitudes and skills

that allow them to adopt a critical and participatory stance regarding issues related to

the conservation and proper use of resources and quality of life.

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With environmental education, the goal is for individuals to understand the realities of their en-

vironment, develop a sense of belonging to their surroundings, and be responsible for its use

and conservation. Therefore, reclaiming the planet's complex order requires teachers to change

their epistemic attitudes, ways of relating to their environment, and conceptions of teaching

from a complex perspective to understand human actions as causes and consequences of en-

vironmental deterioration.

Traditionally, the purpose of Environmental Education is to transmit knowledge, instill values,

and develop competencies and behaviors that can favor understanding and solving environ-

mental problems. It should be a continuous process involving everyone, allowing an analysis of

the main problems affecting the environment and identifying possible solutions. Despite the

concern for the environment and the recognition of the role education plays in its improvement,

different authors propose ways to conceive and practice educational action in this field, as high-

lighted by Ortega (1998, p. 144).

Environmental education is not about nature conservation, resource management, or a new

program to add to the already overloaded school system. It constitutes a new approach to the

relationships between humans and their environment and how they influence each other. It

aims to form responsible citizens committed to improving the quality of life through the ap-

propriation of ecological values and democratic coexistence.

The Environment

The environment is, above all, the person himself, his thoughts, dreams, utopias, beliefs, and of

course, everything he does in his world. His relationship with his natural setting (nature) is where

philosophy and ethics reside, although it is not a new reality, it remains an important topic from

a human perspective.

Environmental Education is a complex dimension of global education, characterized by a great

diversity of theories and practices that address the concept of teaching and learning, the envi-

ronment, and social development from different viewpoints. Here, the environment is not just

a topic but a vital, everyday reality, and this education should be placed at the center of a

human development project (Sauvé, 2006).

Moreover, it must be approached from an inter- and transdisciplinary perspective, which implies

openness to various fields of knowledge to enrich the analysis and understanding of the complex

realities of the environment. It cannot be developed through passive learning methods; there-

fore, the acquisition of knowledge must be conceived as a complex process of knowledge cons-

truction.

In this context, Environmental Education can be characterized as having a systemic vision that

allows for participation and the development of attitudes and values with an interdisciplinary

focus. It aims for holistic development in students by combining the acquisition of knowledge

Universe of environmental education linked to presocratic

philosophy from the perspective of complexity