Relationality provides the philosophical foundation for ecological thinking.

Relational worldview

Flagstaff College/Communiversity is informed by the process philosophies of Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947), Buddhism, and Indigenous Americans. 

Writing in the early part of the 20th Century, Whitehead was inspired by quantum physics, evolutionary biology, and modern psychology to rethink how we understand the world.  He called his new metaphysics “the philosophy of organism.” Central to his thinking is the idea that all things are interrelated and that all things have inherent value.  Today this philosophy is more commonly known as process philosophy or process-relational philosophy.  

The Buddhist doctrine of dependent co-arising—the idea that all things participate in the creation of each moment—is remarkably similar to Whitehead’s philosophy of organism, as are many of the 14 precepts of engaged Buddhism as developed by the Buddhist teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh.

Native American traditions have long held that all things have value for themselves, that all of life is related, and that we are to live in harmony with the earth and our many relations. 

Relationality provides the philosophical foundation for ecological thinking and relational worldviews are at the heart of Flagstaff College/Communiversity .