Philosopher's Zone Eco-grief and environmental loss
Jul 16, 2026
Paige Maguire, an eco‑feminist philosopher and environmental activist completing a PhD on eco‑grief and moral injury. She unpacks eco‑grief and its scope, who feels it and why, and how it differs from traditional grief. Discussion covers dissociation, moral injury, guilt versus motivation, hope tied to responsibility, and the interplay of individual emotions with structural change.
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Eco-Grief As An Umbrella For Environmental Loss
- Eco-grief covers present, past, and anticipated environmental loss beyond personal bereavement.
- Paige Maguire uses it as an umbrella term that includes solastalgia and eco-anxiety to capture varied temporal and relational losses.
Grief Reconfigures Identity Through Relation
- Grief transforms identity because humans are relational and lose parts of themselves when relationships end.
- Maguire cites Michael Cholby: grieving rebuilds who you are by reflecting on interdependent connections to the lost object.
Disassociation As Protective Avoidance
- Disassociation is a grief-stage 'what if' state that protects people from immediate pain but stalls reflection and action.
- Maguire links it to PTSD defenses and modern distractions like social media scrolling as avoidance tactics.