Personal Sustainability: Exploring the Far Side of Sustainable Development

225 Pages·2018·2.295 MB·English

by  Oliver Parodi (editor), Kaidi Tamm (editor)

Personal Sustainability
Transition to sustainability is stuck and academic research has not resulted in
significant change so far. A large void in sustainability research and the under-
standing of sustainable development is an important reason for this. Personal
Sustainabilityseeks to address this void, opening up a whole cosmos of sustainable
development that has so far been largely unexplored. Mainstream academic,
economic and political sustainable development concepts and efforts draw on the
macro level and tend to address external, collective and global processes. By
contrast, the human, individual, intra- and inter-personal aspects on the micro level
are often left unaddressed.
The authors of Personal Sustainability invite the reader on a self-reflecting
journey into this unexplored inner cosmos of sustainable development, focusing
on subjective, mental, emotional, bodily, spiritual and cultural aspects. Although
these are intrinsically human aspects they have been systematically ignored by
academia. To establish this new field in sustainability research means to leave the
common scientific paths and expand the horizon. Together with authors from
cultural studies, philosophy, anthropology, psychology, sociology, psychiatry,
aesthetics and economics, and supported by contributions from practitioners, this
book portrays different approaches to personal sustainability and reflects on their
potentials and pitfalls, paving the way to cultures of sustainability.
This book will be of great interest to researchers and students in the field of
sustainability and sustainable development, as well as researchers from philoso-
phy, anthropology, psychology, sociology, cultural studies, ethnology, educational
research, didactics, aesthetics, economics, business and public administration.
Oliver Parodi, philosopher and engineer, is Managing Director of the KIT-
Centre Humans and Technology and Director of the Karlsruhe School of Sustain -
ability at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany. His research focus lies
in culture and/of sustainability, transdisciplinary sustainability science and personal
sustainability.
Kaidi Tammis a research associate at the Karlsruhe School of Sustainability at
the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany. With a background in culture
studies, sociology and political science, her research binds empirical and theoretical
approaches and focuses on the participatory and qualitative aspects of sustain-
abil ity transition.
Routledge Studies in Sustainability
A full list of titles in the series is available at www.routledge.com/Routledge-
Studies-in-Sustainability/book-series/RSSTY. Recently published titles:
Sustainability and the Art of Long Term Thinking
Edited by Bernd Klauer, Reiner Manstetten, Thomas Petersen and Johannes
Schiller
Cities and Sustainability
A New Approach
Daniel Hoornweg
Transdisciplinary Research and Practice for Sustainability Outcomes
Edited by Dena Fam, Jane Palmer, Chris Riedy and Cynthia Mitchell
A Political Economy of Attention, Mindfulness and Consumerism
Reclaiming the Mindful Commons
Peter Doran
Sustainable Communities and Green Lifestyles
Consumption and Environmentalism
Tendai Chitewere
Aesthetic Sustainability
Product Design and Sustainable Usage
Kristine H. Harper
Stress, Affluence and Sustainable Consumption
Cecilia Solér
Digital Technology and Sustainability
Engaging the Paradox
Edited by Mike Hazas and Lisa P. Nathan
Personal Sustainability
Exploring the Far Side of Sustainable Development
Edited by Oliver Parodi and Kaidi Tamm
Sustainable Modernity
The Nordic Model and Beyond
Edited by Nina Witoszek and Atle Midttun
Personal Sustainability
Exploring the Far Side of
Sustainable Development
Edited by
Oliver Parodi and
Kaidi Tamm
First published 2018
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2018 selection and editorial matter, Oliver Parodi and Kaidi Tamm;
individual chapters, the contributors
The right of Oliver Parodi and Kaidi Tamm to be identified as the
authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual
chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78
of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying
and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification
and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-1-138-06508-6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-15999-7 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Florence Production Ltd, Stoodleigh, Devon, UK
Contents
List of figures vii
List of tables viii
Notes on contributors ix
1 Personal sustainability: exploring a new field of sustainable
development 1
OLIVER PARODI AND KAIDI TAMM
2 Sustainability, culture and personal virtues 18
REINER MANSTETTEN
3 Psychology of sustainability: psychological resources for
sustainable lifestyles 33
MARCEL HUNECKE
4 Care of the self and “Bildung” as condition for and result of
personal sustainability 51
MICHAEL NIEHAUS, DIRK SCHMIDT AND SHIRLI HOMBURG
5 Sustainable development: a matter of truth and love 65
OLIVER PARODI
6 Sustainability in crisis: a perspective of subjective body as
a ‘healing’ force 83
SABIN WENDHACK
7 Developing intra-personal skills as a proactive way to
personal sustainability: the preventive side of the mental
health equation 95
HELENA LASS
vi Contents
8 Inner conflict resolution and self-empowerment as contribution
for personal sustainability on the case of intentional community
practices 116
STELLA VECIANA AND KARIIN OTTMAR
9 Awareness as the new paradigm for personal sustainability:
a practitioner’s perspective on the sustainability transition 136
INGVAR VILLIDO
10 Reflexivity: exploring the metanarratives of sustainable
development 151
KAIDI TAMM
11 Sustainability without the I-sense is nonsense: inner
‘technologies’ for a viable future and the inner dimension
of sustainability 171
SHELLEY SACKS
12 Personal sustainability: conclusions and perspectives 189
OLIVER PARODI, SABIN WENDHACK AND KAIDI TAMM
Index 209
Figures
3.1 Interrelationships between the six psychological resources to
foster subjective well-being and sustainable lifestyles 41
8.1 Personal sustainability and alternative sustainable development
on the case of community-design practices/methods. Elaborated
by Veciana upon Geels Multi-level perspective (2002: 1263) 117
8.2 Forum situation in Sieben Linden ecovillage, 2015.
Photographer: Satoshi Hirsch 122
Tables
3.1 Strategies for leading a good life and the associated psychological
resources, functions for personal sustainability and positive
emotions 38
3.2 Domains of application for the support of the psychological
resources for sustainable lifestyles 43
10.1 Dualistic development perspectives of civil society and
governance 157
11.1 The four phases of Earth Forum and its capacity-building
processes 182
Notes on contributors
Shirli Homburg is a Senior Developer at SAP (Content-as-a-Service, Energy
& Natural Resources Industries, EHS & Sustainability Products) and a former
consultant in SCC (Scientific Consulting Company). She specialises in toxic -
ology, ecotoxicology and regulatory affairs and is Member of Res et Verba –
The Sustainability Network.
Marcel Hunecke is Professor for General Psychology, Organisational and
Environ mental Psychology at the University of Applied Science and Arts in
Dortmund, Germany. His research focuses on strategies to foster sustainable
lifestyles, mobility psychology and methods of transdisciplinary research.
Helena Lass is a practicing psychiatrist with a medical degree from Tartu
University, Estonia and a founding partner at Wellness Orbit. She specialises
in proactive education for mental wellness, intra-personal skills and prevention
in mental health.
Reiner Manstettenis a member of the Department of Philosophy at Heidelberg
University, Germany. His research focuses on ethics, ecological economy, as
well as on the philosophical foundation of economics. A core area of his interest
is philosophical mystics. He is an assigned Zen teacher and teaches Zen and
Christian Contemplation.
Michael Niehaus has operated his own philosophical practice since 2000 in
Dortmund, Germany. He is CEO of the German Professional Association for
Philosophical Practice and associate board member of the International Society
for Philosophical Practice. He is a professional in research and consulting and
a member of Res et Verba – The Sustainability Network.
Kariin Ottmar is a graduated psychologist and long-term ecovillager. She’s a
trainer and facilitator of courses and events on community building, personal
growth and sustainability with long-term experience. She works as a consultant,
mediator and supervisor for community-led sustainable projects and as a
researcher for the ecovillage movement.
Oliver Parodi, philosopher and engineer, is Managing Director of the KIT-
Centre Humans and Technology and Director of the Karlsruhe School of