The new section of our journal, “Poetic Anthology of Eco-Human Experience”, presents poetry, which reflects the human connections with the natural world. In this issue we offer a selection of poems about plants and fungi, written by poets of the 20th and 21st centuries, allowing us to see the eco-human, ecopoietic dimensions of these relationships, and human ability to generate new meanings and forms of experience through interaction with these forms of life. We invite readers to contribute to this selection of poems. Please feel free to send us poems on plants and fungi that you find relevant.

The article is interdisciplinary in nature, covering relational cybernetics and epistemology, biology, ecology, and systems theory. The authors define life as a relational unit, ecopoiesis, which is a constant spiral dance between differentiation and the maintenance of integrity. Based on the concepts of relational cybernetics, new ecological concepts, the category of ecopoiesis, the authors claim that the relation is the basis by which and upon which we say that, as observers, we draw differences and that those differences drawn from the relation are argued as distinctions. Strictly speaking, it is a trifference since the process implies the one that generates. In this process, information is the first step of trifferentiation. This leads us to the proposition that all cognitive processes occur in an entity capable of generating trifferences and processing them as information. On this basis, we have called the process that explains life as a relational unit, ecopoiesis, since it is a constant spiral dance between differentiation and the abduction of its complexity.

We are pleased to introduce a new section of our journal, "In Resonance with the Earth." We see poiesis as providing the basis for human beings' creative responses to their environment. The arts in particular offer forms that crystallize these responses in ways that touch and move us. "In Resonance with the Earth" containыs poetry, artworks, photography and poetic essays relevant to our theme. We encourage readers to find their own poietic ways of responding. This issue embraces a selection of poems by Beverley A’Court (Findhorn, Scotland).

The failure to effectively confront major challenges facing humanity, most importantly, the global ecological crisis, it is argued, is due to the failure of those analysing the root causes of these challenges to engage with and invoke political philosophy to find a way out, and concomitantly, the failure of ethical and political philosophers to effectively engage with the deep assumptions, power structures and dynamics actually operative in the current world-order. It is claimed that this is due to a tacit acceptance of a cultural dualism manifest in the opposition between the sciences and the humanities, with the humanities having been marginalized by the sciences. To overcome this dualism and marginalization of the humanities, and to defend communitarian ethical and political philosophy in a way that both challenges mainstream thinking and engages with the world as it is, with the potential to inspire and orient people for effective action, it is shown how communitarian ethical and political philosophy can be defended and developed through ecology incorporating the notion of ecopoiesis. It is shown how this can serve to create an effective counter-hegemonic culture, integrated as a dialogic grand narrative, uniting and orienting people to create a multi-polar world-order as an ecological civilization.

In this photo essay, Carolina Herbert explores her passion and connection with animals and the intimate and unconditional relationships they have with people. As she collects images and stories from people in her local community, she learns how vitally important animals are in people’s lives and the roles they play in supporting wellbeing, mental health, healing from trauma, depression and isolation. How they bring joy and play into the lives of families and teach children about loss and letting go. Animals connect us more deeply to what matters between us and to who we really are. She explores how animals also need our unconditional care and support especially when injured and how we can learn the gift of being able to deeply listen, attune and respond to their needs. In times when we are increasingly separated from our natural world, and, as animals’ lives are threatened in our escalating climate crisis, there is no greater time than now to restore our relationships to these unconditional love and joy bringing beings.