Limitations of the Standard Model
Abstract To think in terms of the provision of cultural ecosystem services is to presuppose that when nature has cultural value, it serves as a causally efficient means to certain ends. Yet that presupposition fails to capture the intimacy of the relations between people and the natural entities the...
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| Format: | Book Part |
| Language: | English |
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Oxford University PressOxford
2022
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| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198871613.003.0004 https://academic.oup.com/book/chapter-pdf/57987617/oso-9780198871613-chapter-4.pdf |
| Summary: | Abstract To think in terms of the provision of cultural ecosystem services is to presuppose that when nature has cultural value, it serves as a causally efficient means to certain ends. Yet that presupposition fails to capture the intimacy of the relations between people and the natural entities they value. Take the cultural value of reindeer for the Saami people of northern Europe. One of the reasons reindeer are of value for the Saami is because they are integral to that people’s cultural identity. This is not to suggest that reindeer have a certain sort of instrumental value for the Saami, for that suggestion would imply, implausibly, that the reindeer could be replaced, without loss of value, by some alternative service provider. Nor is it to suggest that there are two distinct entities, the Saami on the one hand and the reindeer on the other, and a causal relation tying them together. On the contrary, one cannot describe who the Saami as a people are without referring to the fact that they are reindeer herders. To comprehend the value reindeer have for the Saami, one cannot restrict oneself to thinking in terms of causality and instrumental value. One must move beyond the means–end model. These arguments are developed through analyses of two case studies: Navajo relocation and Saami reindeer herding. |
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