Human Ecology
While learning about the ecological processes of the organisms is fascinating in their own right, human ecology is a subject that many people are better able to relate to. When you take a deeper look into human ecology, you can get a better understanding of just how similar are societies are to many of the other creatures living on this planet. The same way that ecological studies document the interactions between organisms and their ecosystems, there are also ecological studies that have been being conducted on humans for quite some time. Human ecology has been a recognized science since the 1920′s, and the discoveries they have made about the ecological habits of our species have been interesting to say the least. Below you will find some more information about what human ecology actually is and the ecological studies that are being performed day in and day out.
1. Human ecology is the study of how humans interact within their communities. Ecological studies may include information about how humans interact with other humans, their environment, and society as a whole. Human ecology goes into detail about how we create environments for ourselves, the motives behind our actions, and the structure of our societies.
2. Ecological issues such as the social structure of our communities is a major subject of human ecology. We want to better understand why certain members of some communities are ostracized while others are held on a pedestal. The advent of the caste system for example, which still exists in many countries, is a purely human creation. The ecological studies that are being conducted are giving us a better understanding about why we choose to divide and organize the members of our societies into smaller groups, and why we feel the need to give some of these groups more importance than others.
3. There are major differences between human ecology and sociology, even though they may seem like similar fields of study. While looking at humans from a sociological point of view, it seems as though we are changing and adapting for societal reasons. On the other hand, from a ecological point of view, humans are seen as creatures that are simply interacting with their environment as any other organism would.
4. When you are viewing humans from an ecological perspective, we do not seem as extraordinary as we would like to believe we are. Obviously we are more advanced than the other creatures on this planet, but we share more similarities with them then you might think. The same food, water, and energy is being passed through all the organisms that inhabit Earth, and we just happen to be one of those species.
Learning about human ecology can change the way you think about all of your relationships and daily interactions. Are you really responsible for the choices you make or have they been biologically ingrained? More and more ecological studies are being conducted and they are teaching us vital information about who we are and the role we play on this planet.