Introduction

This introduction outlines the different ways of knowing – from the analytical, mercantile mindset of contemporary society, to the organic wisdom (encompassing wonder, beauty, and imagination as ways of knowing) that it superseded. It explores the different metrics (e.g. price, utility, and efficiency) underpinning our current worldview and decision-making processes; examines the rational, analytical kinds of knowledge that this worldview relies upon; and delineates the long-term effects of such a worldview on the individual human decision-maker. It argues for the importance of multiple perspectives, and the integration of traditional environmental knowledge and science, in this vein invoking the versions of empirical observation found among Indigenous peoples, which encompass both rational and affective components.