Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness - Integral Ecology

Overview

Students focusing on Integral Ecology will learn to address the ecological crisis in a way that integrates nature and culture, facts and values, science and spirituality. The curriculum supports scholar-activists committed to eco-social justice and the ideal of a flourishing Earth community.

This 36-unit Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness - Integral Ecology program at California Institute of Integral Studies allows students to study the complex character of the Earth community, the factors that threaten it, and possibilities for a better way forward. Students will explore vital links between ecology and fields including philosophy, religion, psychology, and cosmology, and will learn strategies for building a regenerative and ecologically just future among a community of planetary citizens.

The gravity and complexity of the global ecological crisis calls for an integral approach to ecology, one that broadens and deepens the study of ecology through active engagement with the humanities and social sciences. An integral ecology must draw from a whole spectrum of human inquiry, from the sciences (human, social, and natural), from the world's spiritual traditions (Asian, Western, and indigenous), and from collective wisdom and the insights of individual experience. 

Progressive Leadership

Our Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness - Integral Ecology program at California Institute of Integral Studies is committed to shaping the leadership necessary for profound, progressive transformation of social institutions and individual consciousness. Drawing upon some of the most powerful ideas of Western intellectual and spiritual traditions, together with insights from Asian spiritual philosophies and indigenous worldviews, our faculty has constructed a multidisciplinary course of study to help accelerate each student's journey into their particular leadership role within this work.