Ecosophy is a non-standard term coined by psychoanalyst and militant Félix Guattari in 1992 as a response to perceived shortcomings in the science of ecology.
Guattari holds that ecology generally obscures the complexity of the relationship between humans and their environment; he envisions ecosophy as a new field with a more holistic approach to such study. In this conception, he considers ecosophy as a science of ecosystems, of which he claims there are mental ecosystems, environmental ecosystems, and social ecosystems; that is, human subjectivity, the environment, and social relations, all of which are intimately interconnected.
He writes:
- "Without modifications to the social and material environment, there can be no change in mentalities. Here, we are in the presence of a circle that leads me to postulate the necessity of founding an "ecosophy" that would link environmental ecology to social ecology and to mental ecology."
- Guattari, Félix (2000) The Three Ecologies. Trans. Ian Pindar & Paul Sutton, London & New Brunwick, NJ: The Athlone Press.