This book sheds light on the reasons for our inaction in matters of the environmental crisis and presents solutions to address the crisis. The work draws on numerous disciplinary fields, such as psychology, neuroscience, anthropology, biology, philosophy, sociology, economics, ethology. The author argues that it is not possible to correctly understand the current environmental crisis in the light of a single discipline and emphasizes the importance of cognitive sciences to address the environmental crisis. He shows that the reasons for human inaction relate as much to the characteristics of our psyche/brain as to those of the consumption society that we invented and have lived in at least since the Neolithic. The analysis presented stresses the need to regulate individual behavior and to call into question our consumption patterns. Without questioning the characteristics of both modern society, and the way our brains work, will make it impossible to resolve the environmental crisis. This book proposes a revolutionary change of the way we live and act to preserve the planet.

Addresses the environmental crisis in the light of the cognitive sciences Explores the psychological determinisms inherited from our evolution, leading to overconsumption Proposes a revolutionary change of the way we live and act to preserve the planet

Autorentext

Thierry Ripoll is full Professor at the University of Aix-Marseille. His research focused on major cognitive functions (memory, attention, perception, reasoning, problem solving). Furthermore, he teaches epistemology, particularly cognitive sciences, and has developed research on naive conceptions of the mind/brain relationship. He was also interested in the production of so-called unfounded beliefs and is the author of Why do we believe? », book sold more than 10,000 copies as well as From the mind to the brain translated into Arabic.

At the same time, he is a field ecologist and founding member of the Mediterranean Cetacean Study Group, now Miraceti. He has written numerous articles in both the fields of cognitive science and field of ecology.

Inhalt

Chapter 1. A Brief Overview.- Chapter 2. A Magnificent and Irresistible Decoy: The Pursuit of Happiness.- Chapter 3. Why Can't We Stop Consuming?.- Chapter 4. The economy as a destructive force on the planet.- Chapter 5. The Strength of the Group and the Weakness of the Individual: Insights from Anthropology and Evolutionary Psychology.- Chapter 6. The Boredom and Horror of Meaninglessness: The Ultimate Obstacle.- Chapter 7.The Pursuit of Personal Interest and the Tragedy of the Commons: The Strength of the System.- Chapter 8. But What Kind of Ecology Are We Talking About?.- Chapter 9. The human trajectory: as extraordinary as it is despairing but contingent.- Chapter 10. What room for manoeuver?.- Chapter 11. Beyond reason, the beauty of the world.