Page 26 - Cultural Studies of Science Education

Prologue xxv

Correspondingly, Gregory Bateson (1972) envisioned Perpetual Notion would
be essential to larger ecological policy choices and that we ought to evaluate knowl-
edge based on the degree in which diversity is represented within the policymaking
process. He suggested that adversarial ideas should not be abandoned, but rather
limited (or restrained) with regards to how affective they are. For example, Bateson
suggested that if we were to restrain technological progress, population increase, or
the impact of human “hubris over nature,” we would be better off as a species living
with finite resources. Despite Nature’s way, we make decisions to limit how we
deal with the unpredictability of unforeseen uncertainty in Nature. In other words,
we ought to adapt to Earth’s evolving preeminence and this Perpetual Notion takes
more than science to understand, which is why we invited many diverse voices to
participate in this conversation.
Diverse cultural assumptions are complex and might even be considered multi-
faceted when evaluated for associated influences. By analyzing endorsed world-
views and how they influence actions, we can pay closer attention to what might be
invisible otherwise. In essence, analyzing assumptions makes the “invisible more
visible,” which in turn reminds us of the now explicit behaviors that we endorse.
Considering these behaviors, for example, we might restrain ourselves from relying
on the worldwide Internet for finding new sources of knowledge and learning cul-
tural skills. Rather we might turn to our community for these knowledges and
skills. We might increase the time we spend talking with our neighbors or travel to
the local farmer’s market to purchase groceries. Analyzing cultural assumptions
through cultural studies and other forms of educational research can rejuvenate our
love for one another.
A brief point on ecojustice, for clarity. Note that ecojustice is not social and
environmental justice – its priorities span the globe. On the one hand, environmen-
tal justice does not do justice to ecojustice. It seldom explores beyond ideas regard-
ing adverse social problems limited to the ways in which humans live with
particular environment conditions and ills. On the other hand, social justice has
been too focused on unclear social and environmental concerns for people. While
there are many problems facing humankind, social justice has actually exacerbated,
say, the ways in which natural resources are used and also thereby increased anthro-
pogenic environmental disruptions. This anthropocentrism can be seen unfolding
and attributed to the way people in countries such as India and China are after the
same sorts of justice or “standards of living” that have been afforded to people in
North America for many years. Why should people living in these countries be
denied the opportunities to justly live a quality of life granted to a few? It seems
counterintuitive to deny others the same lifestyle lived by those who are in more
economically advantaged countries. Questions that emerge are complex and have
to do with the ways in which humans are thought of as this way or that way, or
“what counts,” in relation with the ways people value values in economically
advantaged nations (middle-class norms). The questions go beyond what can be
analyzed with forms of social justice that are still reaching for larger participatory
democracy.