The Interconnected Environment and the Disconnected Self: An Exploration of Human Disconnection from Nature and its Influence on the Parallel Degradations of the Natural Environment and Human Health.
Abstract
Human health and the health of the planet are intrinsically interconnected. Human disconnection from nature is a result of patriarchal “power over” structures of control and subordination which have caused parallel degradations of the natural environment and human health. Dualistic separation of humans and nature embeds a disconnected sense of self; a sense of self apart from other life on Earth.
The research presented here challenges the patriarchal systems which are oppressive and utilitarian in nature, and move all life away from equality by embedding and perpetuating structural models of dualistic division which are the foundations of all oppression. This research establishes a connection between human health and the health of the environment, through research, discourse, and the building of, and reflection upon, a digital artefact created by using data in combination with digital tools to create data visualisations which frame written narrative.
The results find that there are clear parallels between the capitalist model of medicine and the degradation of human health, and the capitalist model of growth above all and the degradation of the environment. Healthcare systems driven by capitalism do not result in healthy people, and systems which prioritise economic growth do not result in a healthy environment. Considered together, these two issues of confused priority stem from a disconnection from nature, and a disconnection from self-aware responsibility. An interconnected sense of self would prevent these dominations in its essential shift from a rights-based to a responsibility-based model of being, which naturally understands the complex holism of all life on Earth.
