ABSTRACT
The factors that gave rise to environmentalism remain, but the social and ecological context in which they occur has changed. I suggest that environmentalism must change accordingly. Specifically, I believe that a reconsideration 218of the different conceptual dimensions of environmentalism is in order. In the second chapter I proposed five such dimensions. Now, armed with evolutionary context, I revisit each with a critique. I argue that proposals of biocentrism are fundamentally anthropocentric, that spirituality has a material basis, that ecocentrism for human benefit is egocentric, that action for the collective good is an act of self-interest, and that parochial viability depends upon global viability. Having collapsed these dimensions of environmentalism, I argue that the right and wrong of our ecological actions must be judged by how they promote or restrict access to ecological services for other humans. Socio-psychological appeals to our sense of equity and responsibility shape our behavior toward one another, and the way we behave toward one another will shape our future environment.
