On the political ontology of making things up in political ecology critique: An engagement with Bormpoudakis (2019) and Knudsen (2023)

I engage with two recent articles published in the Journal of Political Ecology, both of which critique political ecology engagements with ontological and epistemological complexities. These complexities might be distilled into the idea that how 'the world' is socially known also shapes ho...

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Main Author: Sian Sullivan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Arizona Libraries 2024-10-01
Series:Journal of Political Ecology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journals.librarypublishing.arizona.edu/jpe/article/id/5823/
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author Sian Sullivan
author_facet Sian Sullivan
author_sort Sian Sullivan
collection DOAJ
description I engage with two recent articles published in the Journal of Political Ecology, both of which critique political ecology engagements with ontological and epistemological complexities. These complexities might be distilled into the idea that how 'the world' is socially known also shapes how the world is known to be. I explore three key issues worked through in these papers, partly with reference to work of mine, namely: 1) conservation struggles around biodiversity offsetting; 2) debates regarding plural and relational ontologies, particularly representations of 'flatness' and 'depth' in ontological considerations; and 3) critical realism, specifically distinctions between perspectives on transitive and intransitive dimensions in qualifying understandings of reality. I highlight a pernicious problem of dismissive approaches towards analysts trying to ask difficult and subtle questions about 'onto-epistemology.' This situation seems surprising given the effort in political ecology towards recognising and respecting plural knowledges, particularly knowledges often overridden by discourses emboldened by structures of power. My overall aim is towards clarity in ongoing political ecology debate on these issues, alongside the pursuit of respectful praxis in this burgeoning area of engagement.
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spelling doaj-art-c7bc8032b49b403690c5c61fe3e5e20f2024-12-02T16:54:25ZengUniversity of Arizona LibrariesJournal of Political Ecology1073-04512024-10-0131110.2458/jpe.5823On the political ontology of making things up in political ecology critique: An engagement with Bormpoudakis (2019) and Knudsen (2023)Sian Sullivan0Bath University, UKI engage with two recent articles published in the Journal of Political Ecology, both of which critique political ecology engagements with ontological and epistemological complexities. These complexities might be distilled into the idea that how 'the world' is socially known also shapes how the world is known to be. I explore three key issues worked through in these papers, partly with reference to work of mine, namely: 1) conservation struggles around biodiversity offsetting; 2) debates regarding plural and relational ontologies, particularly representations of 'flatness' and 'depth' in ontological considerations; and 3) critical realism, specifically distinctions between perspectives on transitive and intransitive dimensions in qualifying understandings of reality. I highlight a pernicious problem of dismissive approaches towards analysts trying to ask difficult and subtle questions about 'onto-epistemology.' This situation seems surprising given the effort in political ecology towards recognising and respecting plural knowledges, particularly knowledges often overridden by discourses emboldened by structures of power. My overall aim is towards clarity in ongoing political ecology debate on these issues, alongside the pursuit of respectful praxis in this burgeoning area of engagement.http://journals.librarypublishing.arizona.edu/jpe/article/id/5823/political ecologybiodiversity offsettingconservation strugglesontologyflat ontologydepth ontology
spellingShingle Sian Sullivan
On the political ontology of making things up in political ecology critique: An engagement with Bormpoudakis (2019) and Knudsen (2023)
Journal of Political Ecology
political ecology
biodiversity offsetting
conservation struggles
ontology
flat ontology
depth ontology
title On the political ontology of making things up in political ecology critique: An engagement with Bormpoudakis (2019) and Knudsen (2023)
title_full On the political ontology of making things up in political ecology critique: An engagement with Bormpoudakis (2019) and Knudsen (2023)
title_fullStr On the political ontology of making things up in political ecology critique: An engagement with Bormpoudakis (2019) and Knudsen (2023)
title_full_unstemmed On the political ontology of making things up in political ecology critique: An engagement with Bormpoudakis (2019) and Knudsen (2023)
title_short On the political ontology of making things up in political ecology critique: An engagement with Bormpoudakis (2019) and Knudsen (2023)
title_sort on the political ontology of making things up in political ecology critique an engagement with bormpoudakis 2019 and knudsen 2023
topic political ecology
biodiversity offsetting
conservation struggles
ontology
flat ontology
depth ontology
url http://journals.librarypublishing.arizona.edu/jpe/article/id/5823/
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