The background of the ZEIS Institute for Ecological Education
The larger contexts of living matter are interpreted by a wide variety of religious, esoteric and ideological movements. In doing so, they exploit the vacuum that has arisen due to the lack of adequate treatment in the empirical natural sciences. In the following, the history behind the ZEIS Institute for Ecological Education is outlined in order to show that it is not related to the aforementioned movements. Nor does it have its origins in theoretical learning or acquired knowledge, but in the practical experiences of nature of its founder Steffen Pichler, including the obtaining of food through hunting and gathering free animals and plants.
While spending several years away from human civilisation in nature (see example below), Pichler first recognised, based on the most complex organisms, vertebrates, that there are common denominators in their existence: It does not matter which species is observed, how large or small the individuals are, what they hunt or gather; the average individual of all species is always in a state in which it develops its evolutionary and innate characteristics to an near to absolute reaching extent. This also applies, for example, to interspecific processes in the context of competition or predator-prey relationships, in which the development of evolutionary characteristics is particularly important. Stable patterns of permanent subjugation are impossible in the ecosystem, as these would on average soon be ended by death or extinction.
Since no exceptions were apparent, the next step was to consider this as a result of fundamental physical laws of nature. So Pichler began to delve deeper into the theoretical sciences in order to follow up on the clues found in practice. And indeed, these clues were clearly evident in many details in areas of biology and ecology, including microbiology and genetics. What emerged was an entire structure of natural laws that must have regulated the entire ecosystem of the planet since life came up there. Those phenomena that were initially most easily observed in the interactions of vertebrates thus represent only the particularly visible surface of this structure, which can be illuminated throughout to the deepest and largest contexts of life and its evolution.
As a side result, it also became apparent that the behaviour of human civilisation towards the plants and animals it controls within the framework of agricultural methodology and manipulates through artificial breeding selection across generations runs counter to these natural laws and therefore cannot function sustainably.
Finally, Pichler recognised that there is a psychological complex within civilisation that aims to repress this unnaturalness – and which has led to large parts of intellectual potential being wasted for this purpose over thousands of years. In the present day, all of this has intensified on both a physical and psychological level as never before. The greatest damage on the psychological level is caused by the escalating subjugation of other animals, as in industrial factory farming. The reason for this is that, due to their similarity to humans, the unnaturalness is much more obvious in them than, for example, in cultivated ‘crops’. Consequently, this is where the strongest mental resistance to opening up to the overall context arises.
Over the years, Pichler has published numerous books and articles. These ultimately motivated some private readers to ask him to establish an institute for which they would provide the financial basis. On this basis, several promising projects have already been launched in Europe, and the work is expanding. The financial basis of the ZEIS Institute for Ecological Education is secured for the long term; no donations or other contributions are accepted.
Incidentally, the name ZEIS is derived from the word Ζεις, which has been used in various expressions related to living things in the ancient Greek language for thousands of years.
