A Critical Approach on Environmental Education Biased to Environmental Possibilism - From Clearing up the Cause to Problem-Solving Mechanism -

환경관리주의 환경교육에 대한 비판적 고찰 - 원인규명에서 해결기제로의 전환을 위하여 -

We can't deny Korean EE has basically developed on the basis of Environmental Possibilism (Environmental management or Reformism) in lots of aspects. I would show three representative proofs here, the first, the philosophy of Korean EE has been mainly focused on dichotomy of human-techno centrism and eco-centrism with no considering other alternative environmentalism since 4th Formal Curriculum, 1981. The second, simultaneously, the concept of EE has not distinguished from it of Science education. (Furthermore, unfortunately some says EE has been a part of Science education, although there should be many differences on its contextual aspect.) And the third one is that the limit of possibilism which market economists have worried, has scarcely mentioned in various kinds of EE-related teaching materials. Possibilism is basically likely to be accompanied by science and economics-oriented approach, and in this aspect this dichotomy, human-techno centrism and eco-centrism, has come from perspectives of Economical development process and over-addicted belief to Science. So it is enough to say that Korean EE has basically developed with biased to Environmental possibilism, in other words, biased to preference to it. And I'll critically focus on these two axes of possibilism, Science and Economics and its dichotomy. Of course, we should accept there are so many same parts in its contents between EE and Science, but we should know its contextual differences for triangular position of environmentalism suitable to EE and also overcome science-dependant approach to EE. Although science-dependant approach to EE and dichotomy could provide some tools for clearing up the causes of environmental problem, especially always it has insisted fundamental causes of environmental problem originated in human faults and over-use of eco-source or over-economic development, but now it is old-fashioned discourse, furthermore it come to have unavoidable limits in the debates of problem-solving mechanism to environmental problems. The paramount important thing is to supply the ways or thoughtful mechanism for solving or coordinating the Environmental problems, not just searching for cause of it. But scientific approach and its dichotomy based on possibilism have continuously born cause & effect in EE-related discourse. So there are so much needs to transfer from continuous bearing of cause & effect to constructive alternatives at least in environmentalism of EE. Traditionally, dichotomical division in EE Environmentalism, human-techno centrism and eco-centrism, couldn't have Provided any answers to our real society, it just gives us only cause & effects of Environmental problems. And also we can't find the description on the limits of capitalism market approach to Environmental problems especially in Korean EE text books, other teaching materials and its teaching-learning process, although market approach economist has been proved its fault beyond its functional merits as Environmental management tools. So we should introduce other alternative Environmental philosophy instead of Possibilism such as eco-socialism insisted by Schmacher M. and Boochin etc, or marxist-environmentalism for relative and comparative views to market-thought such as commodification. In this aspect we need to accept Oriental philosophy based on moderation(中庸) as new another alternatives with the reflection that we have recognized monism as representative Oriental philosophical environmentalism. Fundamentally monism has done its role with providing relative concepts to Dichotomy Enlightenment, but we can't say it has been core concept for understanding of oriental environmentalism, and we can't distinguish monism from oriental philosophy itself, just because oriental thought itself was basically monism. So conceptual difference should be recognized between EE and Science education in teaching-learning process on the basis of life-philosophy(Philosophie des Lebens) from epistemology. For this transformation, we should introduce existentialism in Science education, in other words, only existential Science education based on phenomenology or interpretivism can be EE. And simultaneously we need some ways for overcoming of scientific foundationalism which has been tradition making science not stand on existentialism, formulating and featuring of almost all of natural things and its phenomenon from after enlightenment in western world, but it has malfunctioned in fixing conception of science just into essentialism itself. And we also introduce integrated approach to science and society for EE like STS. Those are ways for overcoming of Environmental possibilism in EE.