Permaculture Farming

Archive for August, 2008

Question: What Epistemological questions should we be asking about sustainability and using science to evidence it?

Epistemology: The Philosophical study of Truth states that there are two components: Raw information (Knowledge) and acceptance (Belief). Without both the information is dismissed.

I am interested in evidencing the sustainability of the whole system of our Permaculture Smallholding not just elements of it.

Sciences is reductionist, it takes part of the system and proves or disproves that that bit works.

What Epistemological questions should we be asking about science to evidence the sustainability of our smallholding?
Thank you little robber girl for the great links. Thanks all for answering.

Answer: Good link by little robber girl to the work of Donella Meadows. It is a good description of the application of elements of Epistemology to specific systems. Not only do our paradigms, or memes, determine how we interpret data, the acceptance of new data will give us the power to transcend our current paradigms.

Science is not reductionist, in order to build both a precise and accurate model you must know what individual elements of a system do (precision) and how they affect the overall system (accuracy), each element of the ecosystem must be understood individually and within the context of the entire model. Modeling individual elements into an overall system is an important part of science.

The first question you should be asking is: “What does sustainability mean to me?” Without defining your terminology first you cannot support your evidence of it; that is the foundation stone of your argument.

You cannot argue against the use of science to understand a complex system, you can only argue the methodology and conclusions.

Permaculture & PEAK OIL: Beyond ‘Sustainability’

Is Permaculture a rule, a guide, or a philosphy?

Permaculture is nothing less than a whole way of life. Permaculture is a guideline, tool, manual or concept that, if followed correctly, will enable you to satisfy your needs without destroying the environment and wasting earth’s natural resources. The concept and theory of Permaculture was invented in the late 1970s by Australian scientists, researchers and authors.

Bill Mollison (picture on the left hand side) pioneered the concept of Permaculture with the help of David Holmgren and later other colleagues. Use the links below to read more and study the amazing concept of Permaculture. There are also Permaculture Courses Online to take for those who want to learn about Permaculture ecology principles in detail. And, if you happen to be in Australia, of course, you may be able to learn the Permaculture way from Bill Mollison himsel.

What is Permaculture?

How Does Permaculture Work

No Dig Garden

Permaculture South America

Permaculture Australia

Permaculture Farming

Permaculture Home Garden