Panu Pihkala
Biographic Data
| ID | 1153549 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Panu Pihkala |
| GIVEN NAMES | Panu |
| FAMILY NAME | Pihkala |
| SIGNATURE | PIHKALA P |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Helsinki |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-6876-8011 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 26 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 64 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 26 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2015 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
What about eco-emotions? An interview with Panu Pihkala
Panu Pihkala holds a Ph.D. and works as an Adjunct Professor (Title of Docent) at the Faculty of Theology at the University of Helsinki (Finland). He is internationally renowned for his work on the emotions involved in ecological transition issues and how individuals deal with them. This interview was conducted on September 18, 2024, by Gaëtan Mangin (PhD, Sociology teacher at Université d’Artois, UFR EGASS, UMR LEM 9221, France) and Sophie Thiro…
Rethinking the good life amid the ecological crisis: The interplay between eco‐anxiety, nature connection and well‐being
The ecological crisis, characterized by various interconnected environmental problems, has emerged as a significant source of anxiety, commonly known as ‘eco‐anxiety’. This psychological distress stemming from ecological threats carries profound implications for human and nonhuman well‐being. Research suggests that while a strong connection with nature can increase eco‐anxiety, cultivating and sustaining this connection can also serve as a coping…
How to Mourn for Animals: From Misanthropic Melancholia to Animal Ethical Mourning
The paper explores “animal ethical mourning” through three directions: 1) mourning for nonhuman animals, 2) mourning for lost human ideals, and 3) mourning with nonhuman animals. First, it investigates the political and moral significance of animal ethical mourning arguing it is a radical normative act. Second, it claims such mourning extends also to given human ideals, which our treatment of animals reveals to be forsaken. Here, it introduces “m…
Planetary Youth Research and Young People’s Eco-Emotions: An Introduction
Social Perspectives on Climate Emotions
Debra J. Davidson. 2024. Feeling Climate Change: How Emotions Govern Our Responses to the Climate Emergency . London: Routledge. Jade Sasser. 2024. Climate Anxiety and the Kid Question: Deciding Whether to Have Children in an Uncertain Future . Berkeley, CA: University of California Press
Ecological Grief and the Dual Process Model of Coping with Bereavement
The Dual Process Model of Coping with Bereavement (DPM, by Stroebe and Schut) is a well-known framework in contemporary grief research and counselling. It depicts how mourners oscillate between various tasks and reactions. There is a need to engage more with the intense feelings of loss (Loss-Oriented tasks), but also with other things in life and other parts of the adjustment process after a loss (Restoration-Oriented tasks). This interdisciplin…
How Western Buddhists Combine Buddhism and Climate Activism
Previous research emphasises congruences between Western Buddhism and environmentalism, with both presented in juxtaposition to overconsumption, hedonic values, and anthropocentric worldviews. Nevertheless, incongruences also occur, including Buddhist tendencies for social disengagement, avoidance of conflict, and disinterest in the non-sentient world. Yet, virtually no empirical data exist on how Western Buddhist environmentalists negotiate tens…
Ecological Grief, Religious Coping, and Spiritual Crises: Exploring Eco-Spiritual Grief
Ecological grief results from human-caused environmental changes. While it is a growing subject of study, research on the relationship between it and spirituality/religion remains scarce. This article explores the topic by focusing on the frameworks of religious coping and (complicated) spiritual grief. Religion and spirituality can be resources for coping with ecological grief, but there can also be difficulties which cause spiritual grief: cris…
Environmental Emotions: Tracking Affects on Page and Screen, Ecocritical Network for Scandinavian Studies (ENSCAN), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland, June 13–14, 2023
In recent years, both researchers and many among the general public are paying increased attention to emotions related to environmental matters. Several terms have been used to describe these emotions, including “environmental emotions” and “Earth emotions”1; here, I use the term eco-emotions for conciseness.2 As contemporary civilizations grapple with manifold socioecological crises, the borders between emotions and other types of emotions regar…
Engaging with Climate Grief, Guilt, and Anger in Religious Communities
Climate change evokes many kinds of emotions, which have an impact on people's behavior. This article focuses on three major climate emotions-guilt, grief, and anger-and other closely related emotional phenomena, such as climate anxiety/distress. The article explores ways in which these emotions could be engaged with constructively in religious communities, with a certain emphasis on Christian, monotheistic, and Buddhist communities. These religi…
Complex dynamics of climate emotions among environmentally active Finnish and American young people
Climate emotions have become an increasingly salient issue since the beginning of the 2000s. This paper draws on data from in-depth interviews from the United States (USA) and Finland to provide insight into the complex dynamics of climate emotions in 23 environmentally active young people in these two countries. The analysis centers on two main themes: (a) complex dynamics of climate emotions and (b) identities and felt social expectations. The …
The Process of Eco-Anxiety and Ecological Grief: A Narrative Review and a New Proposal
As the ecological crisis grows more intense, people experience many forms of eco-anxiety and ecological grief. This article explores the broad process of encountering eco-anxiety and ecological grief, and engages in the constructive task of building a new model of that process. Eco-anxiety and grief are here seen as fundamentally healthy reactions to threats and loss, and only the strongest forms of them are seen as problems. The aim is to help r…
Eco-anxiety: What it is and why it matters
Researchers are increasingly trying to understand both the emotions that we experience in response to ecological crises like climate change and the ways in which these emotions might be valuable for our (psychical, psychological, and moral) wellbeing. However, much of the existing work on these issues has been hampered by conceptual and methodological difficulties. As a first step toward addressing these challenges, this review focuses on eco-anx…
Learning to live with climate change: From anxiety to transformation - Blanche Verlie (author of the book), London and New York: Routledge, 2022
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Climate anxiety: Conceptual considerations, and connections with climate hope and action
Climate anxiety is a phenomenon which raises growing attention. Based on a national survey of climate-related feelings and behaviors (N = 2070) in Finland, we analyzed and discussed the concept of climate anxiety and its relationship with hope and action. We found that all our measures for climate anxiety (including worry and some stronger manifestations of anxiety) and hope (including efficacy beliefs) correlated positively with each other and c…
Eco-Anxiety and Pastoral Care: Theoretical Considerations and Practical Suggestions
The environmental crisis is producing an increasing number of both physical and psychological impacts. This article studies the challenge of eco-anxiety for pastoral care, drawing from both interdisciplinary research and ecological theology. The aim is to help both practitioners and researchers to encounter eco-anxiety more constructively. The rapidly growing research about eco-anxiety and therapy is discussed in relation to pastoral care. The va…
Climate anxiety in children and young people and their beliefs about government responses to climate change: A global survey
BACKGROUND: Climate change has important implications for the health and futures of children and young people, yet they have little power to limit its harm, making them vulnerable to climate anxiety. This is the first large-scale investigation of climate anxiety in children and young people globally and its relationship with perceived government response. METHODS: We surveyed 10 000 children and young people (aged 16-25 years) in ten countries (A…
Encounters with climate change and its psychosocial aspects through performance making among young people
In this article we argue that drama can provide complementary knowing for climate change education and shed light on the complexity of related psychosocial issues. We bring together an interdisciplinary understanding of eco-anxiety, psychosocial responses to climate change, and drama education. We draw on performance narratives created with young people in Finland and explore the psychosocial dynamics of climate change education. Three key themes…
Eco-Anxiety and Environmental Education
Anxiety and distress about the ecological crisis seems to be a rapidly growing phenomenon. This article analyzes the challenges and possibilities posed by such “eco-anxiety” for environmental education. Variations of eco-anxiety are analyzed, and it is argued that educators should be aware of the multiple forms that the phenomenon has. Eco-anxiety is found to be closely connected with many difficult emotions, such as grief, guilt, anger, and desp…
Anxiety and the Ecological Crisis: An Analysis of Eco-Anxiety and Climate Anxiety
Eco-anxiety and climate anxiety are widely discussed in contemporary media and are subjects of growing research interest. However, there is a lack of research about the definitions and variations of these phenomena. This article analyzes various views of eco-anxiety from a wide range of disciplines. Insights from various anxiety theories are used to discuss empirical studies about forms of eco-anxiety. The article points out that uncertainty, unp…
Eco‐anxiety, Tragedy, and Hope: Psychological and Spiritual Dimensions of Climate Change
This article addresses the problem of “eco‐anxiety” by integrating results from numerous fields of inquiry. Although climate change may cause direct psychological and existential impacts, vast numbers of people already experience indirect impacts in the form of depression, socio‐ethical paralysis, and loss of well‐being. This is not always evident, because people have developed psychological and social defenses in response, including “socially co…
Environmental education after sustainability: Hope in the Midst of Tragedy
In this article, I discuss the challenge posed to environmental education (EE; and education for sustainable development) by the thinkers who see the situation of the world as so severe that 'sustainability' is an outdated concept. My approach is interdisciplinary and I discuss especially the connections between EE and eco-psychology. Based on psychological research, I argue that the wide-scale unconscious anxiety, which people experience, should…
Malvern (1941) as a pioneering venture in Christian Ecotheology
The 1941 Malvern Conference included significant environmental statements, which have gradually been forgotten. In this article I point out their relevance and discuss their possible influence. I analyse the background of these environmental statements and suggest that British theology has probably played a stronger role in environmentalism than has previously been understood. I analyse the ecotheological positions of Malvern and William Temple i…
Rediscovery of Early Twentieth-Century Ecotheology
In this article, I examine the early history of Christian environmentalism (“ecotheology”) in the twentieth century. I delineate four strands of early ecotheology: agrarian ecotheology; social Christianity; British contributions; and “post-liberal” foundations for later ecotheological movements. I show that ecotheology was a slowly-rising movement, which had notable proponents. I argue that these early ecotheologians are significant for several r…
Recognition and Ecological Theology
This article explores the possibilities offered by theories of recognition and identity politics for a better understanding of religious – in this case, Christian – environmentalism. Insights related to recognition are gleaned from literature in ecological theology. Themes for further research and possibilities for practical adaptation are explored. It is argued that theories of recognition help to understand the dynamics related to processes whe…
Environmental education after sustainability: Hope in the Midst of Tragedy
In this article, I discuss the challenge posed to environmental education (EE; and education for sustainable development) by the thinkers who see the situation of the world as so severe that 'sustainability' is an outdated concept. My approach is interdisciplinary and I discuss especially the connections between EE and eco-psychology. Based on psychological research, I argue that the wide-scale unconscious anxiety, which people experience, should…
Climate anxiety: Conceptual considerations, and connections with climate hope and action
Climate anxiety is a phenomenon which raises growing attention. Based on a national survey of climate-related feelings and behaviors (N = 2070) in Finland, we analyzed and discussed the concept of climate anxiety and its relationship with hope and action. We found that all our measures for climate anxiety (including worry and some stronger manifestations of anxiety) and hope (including efficacy beliefs) correlated positively with each other and c…
Encounters with climate change and its psychosocial aspects through performance making among young people
In this article we argue that drama can provide complementary knowing for climate change education and shed light on the complexity of related psychosocial issues. We bring together an interdisciplinary understanding of eco-anxiety, psychosocial responses to climate change, and drama education. We draw on performance narratives created with young people in Finland and explore the psychosocial dynamics of climate change education. Three key themes…
Complex dynamics of climate emotions among environmentally active Finnish and American young people
Climate emotions have become an increasingly salient issue since the beginning of the 2000s. This paper draws on data from in-depth interviews from the United States (USA) and Finland to provide insight into the complex dynamics of climate emotions in 23 environmentally active young people in these two countries. The analysis centers on two main themes: (a) complex dynamics of climate emotions and (b) identities and felt social expectations. The …
Eco-Anxiety and Pastoral Care: Theoretical Considerations and Practical Suggestions
The environmental crisis is producing an increasing number of both physical and psychological impacts. This article studies the challenge of eco-anxiety for pastoral care, drawing from both interdisciplinary research and ecological theology. The aim is to help both practitioners and researchers to encounter eco-anxiety more constructively. The rapidly growing research about eco-anxiety and therapy is discussed in relation to pastoral care. The va…
Ecological Grief, Religious Coping, and Spiritual Crises: Exploring Eco-Spiritual Grief
Ecological grief results from human-caused environmental changes. While it is a growing subject of study, research on the relationship between it and spirituality/religion remains scarce. This article explores the topic by focusing on the frameworks of religious coping and (complicated) spiritual grief. Religion and spirituality can be resources for coping with ecological grief, but there can also be difficulties which cause spiritual grief: cris…
Engaging with Climate Grief, Guilt, and Anger in Religious Communities
Climate change evokes many kinds of emotions, which have an impact on people's behavior. This article focuses on three major climate emotions-guilt, grief, and anger-and other closely related emotional phenomena, such as climate anxiety/distress. The article explores ways in which these emotions could be engaged with constructively in religious communities, with a certain emphasis on Christian, monotheistic, and Buddhist communities. These religi…
Ecotheology and the theology of eating: Controversies and convergencies
Environmental theology (or, ecotheology) developed slowly during the first half of the twentieth century and has become a major field of study since the late 1960s. While many of the issues discussed in ecotheological works have included consequences for food production and eating habits, these themes were often not explicitly discussed. The reasons for this are interesting and complex. Issues related to food have been culturally very sensitive a…
Malvern (1941) as a pioneering venture in Christian Ecotheology
The 1941 Malvern Conference included significant environmental statements, which have gradually been forgotten. In this article I point out their relevance and discuss their possible influence. I analyse the background of these environmental statements and suggest that British theology has probably played a stronger role in environmentalism than has previously been understood. I analyse the ecotheological positions of Malvern and William Temple i…
Rediscovery of Early Twentieth-Century Ecotheology
In this article, I examine the early history of Christian environmentalism (“ecotheology”) in the twentieth century. I delineate four strands of early ecotheology: agrarian ecotheology; social Christianity; British contributions; and “post-liberal” foundations for later ecotheological movements. I show that ecotheology was a slowly-rising movement, which had notable proponents. I argue that these early ecotheologians are significant for several r…
Recognition and Ecological Theology
This article explores the possibilities offered by theories of recognition and identity politics for a better understanding of religious – in this case, Christian – environmentalism. Insights related to recognition are gleaned from literature in ecological theology. Themes for further research and possibilities for practical adaptation are explored. It is argued that theories of recognition help to understand the dynamics related to processes whe…
Environmental education after sustainability: Hope in the Midst of Tragedy
In this article, I discuss the challenge posed to environmental education (EE; and education for sustainable development) by the thinkers who see the situation of the world as so severe that 'sustainability' is an outdated concept. My approach is interdisciplinary and I discuss especially the connections between EE and eco-psychology. Based on psychological research, I argue that the wide-scale unconscious anxiety, which people experience, should…
Eco‐anxiety, Tragedy, and Hope: Psychological and Spiritual Dimensions of Climate Change
This article addresses the problem of “eco‐anxiety” by integrating results from numerous fields of inquiry. Although climate change may cause direct psychological and existential impacts, vast numbers of people already experience indirect impacts in the form of depression, socio‐ethical paralysis, and loss of well‐being. This is not always evident, because people have developed psychological and social defenses in response, including “socially co…
Eco-Anxiety and Environmental Education
Anxiety and distress about the ecological crisis seems to be a rapidly growing phenomenon. This article analyzes the challenges and possibilities posed by such “eco-anxiety” for environmental education. Variations of eco-anxiety are analyzed, and it is argued that educators should be aware of the multiple forms that the phenomenon has. Eco-anxiety is found to be closely connected with many difficult emotions, such as grief, guilt, anger, and desp…
Anxiety and the Ecological Crisis: An Analysis of Eco-Anxiety and Climate Anxiety
Eco-anxiety and climate anxiety are widely discussed in contemporary media and are subjects of growing research interest. However, there is a lack of research about the definitions and variations of these phenomena. This article analyzes various views of eco-anxiety from a wide range of disciplines. Insights from various anxiety theories are used to discuss empirical studies about forms of eco-anxiety. The article points out that uncertainty, unp…
Climate anxiety in children and young people and their beliefs about government responses to climate change: A global survey
BACKGROUND: Climate change has important implications for the health and futures of children and young people, yet they have little power to limit its harm, making them vulnerable to climate anxiety. This is the first large-scale investigation of climate anxiety in children and young people globally and its relationship with perceived government response. METHODS: We surveyed 10 000 children and young people (aged 16-25 years) in ten countries (A…
Encounters with climate change and its psychosocial aspects through performance making among young people
In this article we argue that drama can provide complementary knowing for climate change education and shed light on the complexity of related psychosocial issues. We bring together an interdisciplinary understanding of eco-anxiety, psychosocial responses to climate change, and drama education. We draw on performance narratives created with young people in Finland and explore the psychosocial dynamics of climate change education. Three key themes…
The Process of Eco-Anxiety and Ecological Grief: A Narrative Review and a New Proposal
As the ecological crisis grows more intense, people experience many forms of eco-anxiety and ecological grief. This article explores the broad process of encountering eco-anxiety and ecological grief, and engages in the constructive task of building a new model of that process. Eco-anxiety and grief are here seen as fundamentally healthy reactions to threats and loss, and only the strongest forms of them are seen as problems. The aim is to help r…
Eco-anxiety: What it is and why it matters
Researchers are increasingly trying to understand both the emotions that we experience in response to ecological crises like climate change and the ways in which these emotions might be valuable for our (psychical, psychological, and moral) wellbeing. However, much of the existing work on these issues has been hampered by conceptual and methodological difficulties. As a first step toward addressing these challenges, this review focuses on eco-anx…
Learning to live with climate change: From anxiety to transformation - Blanche Verlie (author of the book), London and New York: Routledge, 2022
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Climate anxiety: Conceptual considerations, and connections with climate hope and action
Climate anxiety is a phenomenon which raises growing attention. Based on a national survey of climate-related feelings and behaviors (N = 2070) in Finland, we analyzed and discussed the concept of climate anxiety and its relationship with hope and action. We found that all our measures for climate anxiety (including worry and some stronger manifestations of anxiety) and hope (including efficacy beliefs) correlated positively with each other and c…
Eco-Anxiety and Pastoral Care: Theoretical Considerations and Practical Suggestions
The environmental crisis is producing an increasing number of both physical and psychological impacts. This article studies the challenge of eco-anxiety for pastoral care, drawing from both interdisciplinary research and ecological theology. The aim is to help both practitioners and researchers to encounter eco-anxiety more constructively. The rapidly growing research about eco-anxiety and therapy is discussed in relation to pastoral care. The va…
Complex dynamics of climate emotions among environmentally active Finnish and American young people
Climate emotions have become an increasingly salient issue since the beginning of the 2000s. This paper draws on data from in-depth interviews from the United States (USA) and Finland to provide insight into the complex dynamics of climate emotions in 23 environmentally active young people in these two countries. The analysis centers on two main themes: (a) complex dynamics of climate emotions and (b) identities and felt social expectations. The …
How Western Buddhists Combine Buddhism and Climate Activism
Previous research emphasises congruences between Western Buddhism and environmentalism, with both presented in juxtaposition to overconsumption, hedonic values, and anthropocentric worldviews. Nevertheless, incongruences also occur, including Buddhist tendencies for social disengagement, avoidance of conflict, and disinterest in the non-sentient world. Yet, virtually no empirical data exist on how Western Buddhist environmentalists negotiate tens…
Ecological Grief, Religious Coping, and Spiritual Crises: Exploring Eco-Spiritual Grief
Ecological grief results from human-caused environmental changes. While it is a growing subject of study, research on the relationship between it and spirituality/religion remains scarce. This article explores the topic by focusing on the frameworks of religious coping and (complicated) spiritual grief. Religion and spirituality can be resources for coping with ecological grief, but there can also be difficulties which cause spiritual grief: cris…
Environmental Emotions: Tracking Affects on Page and Screen, Ecocritical Network for Scandinavian Studies (ENSCAN), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland, June 13–14, 2023
In recent years, both researchers and many among the general public are paying increased attention to emotions related to environmental matters. Several terms have been used to describe these emotions, including “environmental emotions” and “Earth emotions”1; here, I use the term eco-emotions for conciseness.2 As contemporary civilizations grapple with manifold socioecological crises, the borders between emotions and other types of emotions regar…
Engaging with Climate Grief, Guilt, and Anger in Religious Communities
Climate change evokes many kinds of emotions, which have an impact on people's behavior. This article focuses on three major climate emotions-guilt, grief, and anger-and other closely related emotional phenomena, such as climate anxiety/distress. The article explores ways in which these emotions could be engaged with constructively in religious communities, with a certain emphasis on Christian, monotheistic, and Buddhist communities. These religi…
What about eco-emotions? An interview with Panu Pihkala
Panu Pihkala holds a Ph.D. and works as an Adjunct Professor (Title of Docent) at the Faculty of Theology at the University of Helsinki (Finland). He is internationally renowned for his work on the emotions involved in ecological transition issues and how individuals deal with them. This interview was conducted on September 18, 2024, by Gaëtan Mangin (PhD, Sociology teacher at Université d’Artois, UFR EGASS, UMR LEM 9221, France) and Sophie Thiro…
Rethinking the good life amid the ecological crisis: The interplay between eco‐anxiety, nature connection and well‐being
The ecological crisis, characterized by various interconnected environmental problems, has emerged as a significant source of anxiety, commonly known as ‘eco‐anxiety’. This psychological distress stemming from ecological threats carries profound implications for human and nonhuman well‐being. Research suggests that while a strong connection with nature can increase eco‐anxiety, cultivating and sustaining this connection can also serve as a coping…
How to Mourn for Animals: From Misanthropic Melancholia to Animal Ethical Mourning
The paper explores “animal ethical mourning” through three directions: 1) mourning for nonhuman animals, 2) mourning for lost human ideals, and 3) mourning with nonhuman animals. First, it investigates the political and moral significance of animal ethical mourning arguing it is a radical normative act. Second, it claims such mourning extends also to given human ideals, which our treatment of animals reveals to be forsaken. Here, it introduces “m…
Planetary Youth Research and Young People’s Eco-Emotions: An Introduction
Social Perspectives on Climate Emotions
Debra J. Davidson. 2024. Feeling Climate Change: How Emotions Govern Our Responses to the Climate Emergency . London: Routledge. Jade Sasser. 2024. Climate Anxiety and the Kid Question: Deciding Whether to Have Children in an Uncertain Future . Berkeley, CA: University of California Press
Psychology (15 works) · Sociology (12 works) · Social Psychology (11 works) · Anxiety (10 works) · Climate Change Communication and Perception (10 works) · Environmental Education and Sustainability (10 works) · Religion, Ecology, and Ethics (10 works) · Environmental ethics (9 works) · Political science (9 works) · Philosophy (7 works)