Eco Trends, Counseling and Applied Ecology in Community Using <i>Sophia</i>

• Main Author: Vasile-Petru Hategan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-06-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: ecophilosophy; ecotheology; applied ecology; environment; philosophical counseling; spiritual counseling
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/12/6572

The study investigates the current trends that manifest themselves in two areas that have common origins in antiquity, found in the Hellenistic concept of Sophia: present in philosophy, where it expresses the love of wisdom, but also in theology where it represents divine love. Looking at this approach, the Sophia has manifested various orientations, either toward the field of ecology and the environment through the emergence of new concepts, such as ecophilosophy and ecotheology, but also toward the practice applied to the person, through the philosophical counseling or spiritual or pastoral counseling. This paper analyzes the characteristics of the applied trends, ecophilosophy and ecotheology, through their comparative analysis, along with a bibliometric study on papers published on these topics in indexed databases in the last 45 years. The paper presents the openness to innovation, through the emergence of the two concepts analyzed which created methods and tools specific to philosophical or spiritual counseling, and adaptations of these practices to the needs of contemporary society. Therefore, the innovation is sustained by creating a new specialization in community counseling practice, called eco-counseling for community (EC4com), with the new ecological trend, which can be included in the philosophical and spiritual practices applied in communities through individual counseling, for groups or community.