Different cultures do not share the same relationship( s) with the land, the natural environment, and the cosmos. For some cultures in fact these three labels are all synonymous, while for others clear distinctions are understood through their use/invocation. In addition the role or relationship ofhumans with the land, the natural environment, and the cosmos varies among different groups and cultures. These multiple value systems and epistemologies have shaped cultures and impacted the relations between these many groups. Some might argue that these differences, or this diversity is one of the major reasons that different cultures in contact often result in different cultures in conflict. We need to acknowledge and confront multiple value systems and epistemologies related to attitudes to land and environmental ethics and understand them in a more systematic way.
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/lynn_paxson/16/
This abstract is from Design for Diversity: Proceedings of the Thirty-sixth Annual Conference of the Environmental Design Research Association, ed. Habib Chaudhury (Edmond, OK: Environmental Design Research Association, 2005). Posted with permission.