Static in Process: A Key to Applying Process Philosophy for Ecological Civilization

Abstract

This article provides a novel inroad to the field of process philosophy and its application. It does this by elucidating the relationship between two modes of thought—static and process thinking—as a key to cocreating ecological civilization. Static and process modes of thought are conceptualized in terms of five “basic orientations”: abstract and context, closed and open, isolating and relational, passive and generative, one-dimensional and multidimensional. Inspired by the work of Alfred North Whitehead, Arran Gare, and Julie Nelson, these dynamic dualisms are resolved by nesting static perspectives within process-relational contexts. This article argues that “hegemonic static thinking” is guiding decision-making at root of global crises. While also avoiding “dualistic process thinking,” “encompassing process thinking” that includes and transcends static thinking is posited as a mode of thought conducive to more ecological and community-oriented decision-making across multiple scales. This article establishes the philosophical consistency of this nested “static-process framework,” using it to show how process metaphysics underpins interlinking shifts in worldviews, politics, and economics for moving from industrial to ecological civilization.