Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
and mutual re
ection on different viewpoints is more likely than private
contemplation to result in a shared perception of what is genuinely valuable
for peoples
'
well-being. Harrison, Burgess and Clark contend that
'
it is often
through open and sustained debate that
, whose relative stability
distinguishes them frommore subjective and labile personal preferences are
revealed
'
values
'
.
39
Barton also notes the value of deliberative processes for helping
participants formulate an understanding of where their true interests lie.
40
In addition to in
'
uencing citizens in participative processes, deliberation
may be effective in three respects for instilling the consciousness of human
dependence on healthy ecosystems and of their vulnerability in the face of
mass exploitation that may lead to more far-reaching change in patterns of
living and in societal perception of what constitutes acceptable or unaccept-
able behaviour. The
rst is that deliberation has an educational effect
because it exposes people to alternative conceptions of issues that they
would not otherwise come across in their everyday lives or would dismiss
if they were presented with them independently. Hearing and internalising
information about ecological conditions and the causes of ecological deg-
radation may lead to a longer-lasting awareness of the impact of current
practices on ecosystems and therefore on everyone who depends on their
functionality. Smith suggests that
democratic deliberation offers conditions
under which citizens will encounter and re
'
ect upon ecological knowledge
'
'
and values
, and that they
are more likely to internalise these in their
judgments and practices
because they have been required to consider
them in a context that places them in the role of problem solver rather
than powerless critic of executive action.
41
Second, the formation of values possessing a permanence that volatile
preferences based on pure self-interest lack is likely to in
'
uence personal
choices made outside of public contexts. Promoting value formation
and the development of public good attitudes are viewed as part of
deliberation
s educative function. For example, Barry describes democratic
deliberation as
'
exivity
because it encourages participants to think on interests other than their
own.
42
'
a process of mutual learning
'
that promotes self-re
Jacobs uses similar language in arguing that deliberative processes
.
43
provide
'
a form of education which is constitutive of human
ourishing
'
39
C. Harrison, J. Burgess and J. Clark,
'
Capturing Values for Nature: Economic, Ecological
in J. Holder and D. McGillivray (eds) Locality and Identity:
Environmental Issues in Law and Society (Aldershot: Ashgate, 1999), p. 87.
40
Barton,
and Cultural Perspectives
'
41
'
Underlying Concepts
'
,p.114.
Smith,
'
Liberal Democracy
'
, pp. 145
-
6.
42
Barry,
'
Rethinking Green Politics
'
,pp.228
-
9.
43
Jacobs,
'
Environmental Valuation
'
,p.229.
