STORIES FROM ECOLOGICAL PHILOSOPHY 87
Swimme and Berry (1992) warn that we are coming to the
end of the Cenozoic Era of Earth’s geological timescale, the past
60–65 million years of the evolution of life forms on our planet,
the era that brought forth flowers, trees, songbirds and mammals,
including humans. They propose that the next era be called the
Ecozoic Era, suggesting a new orientation recognizing the necessity
of integral participation by all members of the planetary community.
They note that the next phase of the story of the universe will require
extensive change to our sense of reality and to the language we use
to convey this sense.
Ecoepistemologies
Epistemology is a branch of philosophy concerned with the
theory of knowledge. In this section we explore ways of knowing
related to ecology and the environment. These “ecoepistemologies”
are vital for shaping how we think about and relate to the world
around us. Diverging from traditional anthropocentric ways of
knowing, which separate us from the Earth, ecologically informed
philosophy supports our contact and relationship with the human
and more-than-human world.
An epistemology of the sacred
The phrase epistemology of the sacred was first introduced as part of
the subtitle of the book Angels Fear by Gregory and Mary Caroline
Bateson (1987). This phrase fits well as a description of the focus of
the life and work of Thomas Berry (1988, 1999, 2009). Berry was
a cultural historian, ecophilosopher, ecotheologian and one of the
leading scholars involved in exploring the fundamental issue of our
human relationship with the Earth. Berry says that humans have
developed what he calls “an autism towards the world,” listening and
speaking only with themselves rather than to the rest of the world.
We have lost what Berry (1988) calls “the great conversation” with
the moon, with trees, rivers, mountains and animals, with the more