Ekologisk läskunnighet och naturrelationernas abstraktion i Antropocen

Abstract

For the longer part of humanity’s history, knowledge about nature has been sensual, physical and concrete. Language has reflected a refined and direct relation to living surroundings. With the emergence of modernity, and urbanisation, a more abstract and general relation to nature was introduced. As common schooling started in Sweden, in the 1840s, this more abstract relation to nature was introduced to, and taught to children. Even pedagogy went “indoors”, focusing on naming things from a scientific point of view. This abstraction, though, still provided children with some kind of language to denote species and specifics in nature. With the introduction of reform pedagogy, in the 1970s and 80s, by-heart-knowledge was no longer prioritised. Today, we face an increasing ecological illiteracy among children and youngsters. The illiteracy is verbal, i.e. children do not know names for things they see in nature, but also physical. Many children are reported not to be able to function physically in an outdoors environment. The author asks what consequences this development has in the long run. Is a total abstraction from nature, a complete urbanisation, the consequence of living in the Antropocene? And what does it do to our existence?