A Critique of Eco-Feminism: An Attempt Towards Environmental Solution

Abstract

The scriptures and the early Church all pronounced upon women in almost exclusively masculine voice. Aristotelian philosophy deemed a woman to be 'inferior man' and this was corroborated by the interpretation of the creation of Eve as 'posterior et inferior' (last and lesser). Even in Medieval Europe there was a debate in which male writes attacked and defended women; the humanist writers of the Renaissance also showed the same trend. Ecofeminism is a twin concept encompassing both ecology and feminism. It is justified by saying that ecology or environment is closely associated with the female. The primary belief of ecofeminism is that the supremacy over women parallels the suppression of nature and that this mutual domination has led to environmental destruction by the controlling patriarchal society. This philosophy is based on the principle that there is a vital connection between the oppression of nature and women. Hence understanding these connections is necessary to understanding the two veins of oppression. Feminist theory must include an ecological perspective, and ecological problems must include a feminist perspective. Eco-feminists further argue that an environmental philosophy that fails to attend to these important links will be theoretically and practically deficient. The objective of the research is to explicate and examine with critically the objective of Ecofeminism. Ecofeminism is a twin concept of both ecology and feminine and as such being a forceful approach in environmental deserves considerable attention to modern environmentalists.

Keywords

• Value dualism
• Logic of domination
• Ecofeminism
• Environmental Ethics

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