1. Steven Goldfinger, Ph.D.
Principal, EcoMind
Fifth Conference on Integrative Psychiatry
“Interconnectedness“
20 April, 2012
Groningen, Netherlands
2. A form of suicide, in which an individual or a population
destroys the biophysical substrate on which its life and
well-being depend.
3. Do you believe this is a serious risk?
If so, does it impact the way you currently live
your life?
4. 1) Are we really at risk of ecocide?
▪ What is the current ecological disorder?
▪ How bad/urgent is the problem?
▪ Do we know what to do about it?
2) If we know, why are we behaving in ways that increase
rather than reduce the problem—is there an underlying
psychological disorder?
3) What role should psychiatry play in addressing this
disorder?
5.
6. 2 Hiroshima bombs a second, since 1961.
Would boil Sydney Harbour dry every 12
hours—twice a day for the last 50 years.
17. 1. Eliminate the progressive buildup of substances extracted from
the Earth's crust (for example, heavy metals and fossil fuels).
2. Eliminate the progressive buildup of chemicals and compounds
produced by society (for example, dioxins, PCBs, DDT, endocrine
disruptors ).
3. Eliminate the progressive physical degradation and destruction of
nature and natural processes (for example, over harvesting
forests and paving over critical wildlife habitat).
21. "Continuing on our current course would be suicidal for
global civilization… Here is the core of it:
We are destroying the climate balance that is essential
to the survival of our civilization. This is not a distant or
abstract threat; it is happening now.”
Al Gore, June, 2011
22. “In the twenty-first century, supplies are running short and the global
thermostat is running high. Climate change is also showing us that the
old model is more than obsolete...
The world's current economic model is an environmental global
suicide pact that will result in disaster if it isn't reformed.”
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, 2011
23.
24.
25. We clearly understand how critical the
situation is, we know what needs to be done,
yet we fail to act.
Even worse, we continue to behave in ways
that accelerate rather than ameliorate the
problem.
27. If we know, why do we fail to act?
What are the psychological obstacles keeping us
on an unsustainable path?
28. Current behavior too rewarding inability to delay gratification,
even to avert future catastrophe
Difficulty perceiving global, long-term trends
Instincts—e.g., gathering & hoarding—that are no longer adaptive
Habituation search for novelty, driving overconsumption
Brain reward system for selfish behavior more powerful, more
dominant than for altruistic behavior (innate vs. learned?)
Habits—efficient, but can interfere with change
Limited mathematical capacity e.g., failure to understand
compound growth
Individuals behave differently in groups/organizations; latter preserve
identity by resisting change
Dominance hierarchy—individual and groups reaping the rewards
resist change in the status quo
Situation so distressing denial, depression, learned helplessness
Illusion of separateness—what is “not me” doesn’t impact me
31. Accurate perception/acceptance of reality
Eliminate delusion that all is OK, no urgency
Dispel illusion of separateness from nature
Shift from pathological to adaptive behavior
Emotional resilience as conditions worsen
Prevent paralyzing fear, anger, depression,
helplessless, etc. from interfering with effective
adaptation
32. 1. If ecocide is self-destructive behavior, is this a form of
pathology that psychiatry must address, and if so, how?
2. Is dispelling the illusion of separateness key to acting in
alignment with nature, and if so, does integrative
psychiatry, with connectedness as one of its central tenets,
have a special role to play?
3. Can behavior be shifted quickly enough, and on a large
enough scale, to get us off our current destructive path?
4. What practical steps can the psychiatric community take,
and with whom should it form partnerships, to help
facilitate the societal shift necessary if we are to avoid
ecocide?
33. A human being is part of the whole, called by us “Universe,” a
part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts
and feelings as something separate from the rest – a kind of optical
delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us,
restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few
persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this
prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living
creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.
Albert Einstein
34. “The ancients saw no division between themselves and the natural
world. They understood how to live in harmony with the world
around them.
It is time to recover that sense of living harmoniously for our
economies and our societies.”
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
