The Ecologist-Philosopher
Vincent Devictor is an ecologist atthe Institute of Evolutionary Sciences in Montpellier. He is a dedicated researcher who advocates for enlightened science. He had his sights set on the grandes écoles, but ended up at the university instead. A failure? No, a turning point.
“I was immediately drawn to this world—its freedom, its high standard of education, and the passionate people you meet there. It’s anything but a dead-end path.”“. Above all, it was a defining experience for the young man at the time: deeply concerned about nature conservation, he discovered the field of conservation ecology and began to explore the impact of human activities on the environment. “It is a science that is involved and committed—a science of urgency.”. But it's not just a science… “The field combines ecology and ethics; it is a relatively recent approach that emerged in the 1980s.”“.
While Vincent Devictor devotes part of his work to understanding the impact of global changes on birds, he believes it is necessary to reflect on the values underlying this work. “I wanted to take a different look at ecology—one that would help give meaning to scientific work“. This perspective is that of philosophy. “Science is steeped in philosophical problems; we can’t understand anything unless we examine the history of values” says the ecologist, who is pursuing a philosophy dissertation at the Sorbonne alongside his research, “to better understand the world we live in. To practice informed science“.
Bringing Meaning to Science
“Investigating what ‘nature’ has come to mean in representations, knowledge, and policies related to biodiversity reveals how ethics, science, and politics are intertwined.”“, explains Vincent Devictor in his book *Nature in Crisis**, which sheds light on the major ecological crisis our society is facing.
What paths are open to us as we face this societal challenge? Sustainable development and green growth? “These paths to consensus perpetuate the false but comforting notion that anything is possible,” points out Vincent Devictor, who prefers to seriously examine the incompatibilities and conflicts of values. So what is the outlook for a way out of the crisis? “We must strive to find new, more humble paths—with less excess—that resist the temptation to manage people and nature the way we manage a company’s profits“.
How can we not be concerned about biodiversity in the face of rampant urbanization and the disappearance of many species? For the philosopher-ecologist, while there is cause for alarm, there are also reasons to be enthusiastic—especially when we see that certain protective measures are working very well. Even if they aren’t enough… “We have some good solutions for this crisis, but there is no one-size-fits-all approach“.
* *Nature in Crisis* by Vincent Devictor, Editions du Seuil, January 2015