Inside-out sustainability: the neglect of inner worlds

Ives, Christopher D.; Freeth, Rebecca; Fischer, Joern

Abstract

In the context of continuing ecosystem degradation and deepening socio-economic inequality, sustainability scientists must question the adequacy of current scholarship and practice. We argue that pre-occupation with external phenomena and collective social structures has led to the neglect of people’s ‘inner worlds’—their emotions, thoughts, identities and beliefs. These lie at the heart of actions for sustainability, and have powerful transformative capacity for system change. The condition of people’s inner worlds ought to also be considered a dimension of sustainability itself. Compassion, empathy and generosity, for example, are personal characteristics that mark individual expressions of sustainability. Sustainability science must take inner life more seriously by considering how language shapes and is shaped by paradigms about the world, prioritising enquiry into how spirituality, contemplation and sustainability transformation relate, and encouraging scholars and practitioners to intentionally cultivate their inner worlds to strengthen inner resources necessary for addressing sustainability challenges.

Citation

Ives, C. D., Freeth, R., & Fischer, J. (2019). Inside-out sustainability: the neglect of inner worlds. AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-019-01187-w

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 9, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Apr 24, 2019
• Publication Date: Apr 24, 2019
• Deposit Date: Apr 18, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: May 9, 2019
• Journal: Ambio
• Print ISSN: 0044-7447
• Electronic ISSN: 1654-7209
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Pages: 1-10
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-019-01187-w
• Keywords: Ecology; Geography, Planning and Development; Environmental Chemistry; General Medicine
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1829258
• Publisher URL: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs13280-019-01187-w
• Additional Information: Received: 6 July 2018; Revised: 1 February 2019; Accepted: 9 April 2019; First Online: 24 April 2019