Rethinking ecological design through ideology

Building a theory to analyze environmental ideologies

Abstract

This article aims to address the issue of environmental ideologies in the context of ecological design and the environmental crisis. A theoretical framework is established in which different trends in ecological or environmental design are studied as environmental ideologies. These ideologies do not seek to “repair” the environment, but rather aim to modify it to make it satisfactory according to
certain pre-existing ideals of well-being. This argument is demonstrated through Hume’s guillotine, or the is-ought problem, applied to the divide between ecology as a science and ecology as activism. It is then argued that all environmental action requires a value judgment, which ultimately can only be based on ideology. The concept of design is then discussed, and a theoretical model based
on Amos Rapoport is proposed, revealing its ideological nature. Finally, the concept of well-being is addressed and incorporated into this theory.