This paper introduces the work of the Finnish educational philosopher, Urpo Harva (1910–1994), who became the first professor of adult education in any of the Nordic countries in 1946. Harva identified as the first Finnish academic professor that included nature conservation, environmental education, and active debate against the ideal of continuous economic growth to his own teaching (Salo 1994). Already in the 1950s, Harva (1955; Alanen 1994; Salo 1994) wrote about how the most important task of adult education should be nature conservation. Despite Harva’s progressive approach to environmental issues not only in academic but in public discussion with columns and essays published in Finnish newspapers as well, he is nowadays only remembered as a value philosopher. Moreover, his ecological ideas are largely neglected although many in Finland have acknowledged Harva’s efforts to make environmental awareness a key part of adult education (e.g., Alanen 1994; 1997; Mäki-Kulmala 1995; Jaaksi 1997; Vilkka 1997; Värri 1997).  

In this paper, I intend to correct this lack of research and assert that Harva should be understood not only as a philosopher of value but also as a theoretician of environmental adult education. Thus, my purpose is to supplement the history of Finnish theory of environmental adult education and to show how strong the presence of environmental issues has been in Finnish adult education in the past. To prove this, my aim is first, define basis of Harva’s environmental theory, and second, to localise Harva’s environmental adult educational theory’s philosophical starting points. 

The basis on Harva’s environmental theory needs to be pieced together from his various columns and essays in Finnish and to combine them with his earlier theories because Harva did not publish any one piece specifically devoted to the environmental issues (Vilkka 1997; Jaaksi 1997). So far, the only two pieces of research into Harva’s environmental theory have been by the Finnish philosophers Leena Vilkka (1997) and Vesa Jaaksi (1997), respectively. In this study, I use more extensive material than Jaaksi and Vilkka a quarter of a century ago and I'm aiming for an even broader overview of Harva's thinking.

To localise philosophical starting points of Harva’s environmental adult education theory, I utilise Canadian professor Pierre Walter’s (2009; 2021) definition of five major philosophical approaches guiding historical development of environmental adult education theory and practices since the beginning of 1900s which are liberal, progressive, behaviorist, humanistic and radical. All these approaches include informal learning (Walter 2021). Interestingly, especially self-cultivation, i. e. a voluntary task of developing one’s personality to reach mature adulthood guided by moral principles, the theory of which has a rich history in Finland (Koski & Filander 2013), as a form of informal learning was essential form of adult education for Harva (Harva 1955; 1963; Alanen 1994, 297; 1997, 28) 

I this article, I argue that Harva's environmental adult education is based on the civic educational goal of encouraging Finnish into implementing a biophilic attitude, i. e. implementing nurture relationship with the living and non-living things in nature (e. g. Blom, Aguayo & Carapeto 2020, 8–10; Orr 2004, 131–152), achieved by active inner work of self-cultivation. To prove my argument, I analysed 31 columns and essays Harva wrote during 1971 to 1994 focusing on environmental issues with abductive content analysis guided by the following research questions:

1.   What are the societal structures Harva thinks should be targeted by adult education in the pursuit of more ecologically sustainable practices?

2.   What forms of self-cultivation does Harva think might counteract the values these societal structures represent?

3.   How do Harva’s environmental philosophy fit in with the rest of environmental adult education theory? 

The success of my research task requires both an analysis of Harva’s columns and essays and familiarization with Harva's earlier academic output so that observations from the columns can be combined with his theories. That's why I utilise abductive content analysis. In this article, in accordance with my argument, I have focused on limiting Harva’s academic books utilised in this analyse only to the point of view of self-cultivation. The selected columns and essays for research data were picked upon newspaper text written by Harva that included in their title’s words “nature”, “environment”, “animals” or names of famous Finnish educational philosophers, whose work Harva did defend or debate against (for example “Linkola” according to Pentti Linkola (1932–2020), famous Finnish ecological theorist and writer). The overall research data (n=31) combined columns and essays written by Harva from 1971 to 1994 published in Finnish newspaper Aamulehti, local newspaper published in Tampere from 1881 onwards that is still today second largest local newspaper in Finland and in Vihreä lanka, which was previously most well-known Finnish green movement magazine which publish activity ended in December 2019 after 36 years. Abductive content analysis in this article advanced by coding the articles in ATLAS.ti program into 31 subject-related categories, such as “technology”, “countryside”, “pope” and “over-consumption”. After localising the subjects Harva is discussing, I created eight categories to describe sub-codes which raised from in relation to Harva’s theories and organize around my argumentation in this paper. Such categories were, for example, “value philosophy”, “human-centric worldview”, “desirable as citizen”, “moral agency” and “biophilia”, from which the last with it oppose “biophobia” arises from the argumentation of my article. In this paper, I especially decided to focus on four sub-categories: “moral agency”, “self-cultivation”, “biophilia” and “biophobia”. These four categories cover the codes of almost all other subcategories since the subject under study is multiple. Ethical questions that relate to this study are worth to mention, since the abductive content analysis is always an interpretation of what has been written. I have focused on careful reading of this historical data, and I have attached Harva's theory to the Finnish and international development of adult education to interpret it as an output of its era.

As analysis outcomes for my research, Harva (1978; 1987c; 1988a; 1988b; 1988c; 1988e; 1988g; 1988i; 1990c; 1991b) identifies three societal structures that continue worsening eco crises – techno-culture, consumerism, and ideology of economic growth. To resist these societal structures, he defends the need of creating an experimental bond with nature as well as gaining knowledge about the current state of environment even though it will cause emotions, as it did for Harva himself (see, 1982c) and, most importantly, to change one’s behavior in a light of these experiences and gained knowledge. Thus, Harva's theory of environmental adult education resembles both liberal and progressive philosophies of environmental adult education. In line with my argument, when combining the knowledge from columns and essays with Harva’s academic publication, it can be found that Harva developed ways in which a person can resist the value world of these social structures with the help of self-cultivation. In my interpretation, Harva’s environmental adult education theory’s basics form a model of biophilic self-cultivation, in which: 1) change requires experimental approach towards the environment, realizing one’s connection to it and opening eyes to societal norms that continue worsening the stage of the environment (biophilic self-reflection; Harva 1971; 1978; 1982c; 1987a; 1988c; 1988g), 2) it is needed to adopt new kinds of environmentally friendly values to guide one’s actions and practice to reach the change (biophilic act of self-cultivation; Harva 1955; 1963; 1979; 1980; 1989; 1990a) and 3) one must put these practices of change into action in communal aspect – in one’s own actions towards others and the environment in one’s everyday life (communal act of biophilia; Harva 1963, 118–120; 1987c; 1988e; 1991a).

References: Alanen, A. (1994). Urpo Harva, aikuiskasvatuksen humanistinen filosofi. Aikuiskasvatus, 14(4), 296–299. Blom, S. M., Aguayo, C. & Carapeto, T. (2020). Where is the Love in Environmental Education Research? A Diffractive Analysis of Steiner, Ecosomaesthetics and Biophilia. Australian Journal of Environmental Education 36(3), 200–218. https://doi.org/10.1017/aee.2020.24 Harva, U. (1955). Aikuiskasvatus. Johdatus aikuiskasvatuksen teoriaan ja työmuotoihin Suomessa. Helsinki: Otava. Harva, U. (1963) [1960]. Systemaattinen kasvatustiede. Helsinki: Otava. Jaaksi, V. (1997). Urpo Harva ja ekologinen kysymys. In Tuomisto, J. & Oksanen, R. (ed.) Urpo Harva – filosofi, ajattelija, keskustelija. Vsk: University of Tampere, 207–216. Koski, L. & Filander, K. (2013). Transforming causal logics in Finnish adult education: Historical and moral transitions rewritten. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 32(5), 583–599. https://doi.org/10.1080/02601370.2012.740689 Orr, D. (2004). Earth in mind. On education, environment, and the human prospect. Washington: Island Press. Salo, S. (1994). Urpo Harvan viimeinen haastattelu. [Urpo Harva's last interview]. LEIF 3/94. Vilkka, L. (1997). Urpo Harvan vihreä filosofia. In Tuomisto, J. & Oksanen, R. (ed.) Urpo Harva – filosofi, ajattelija, keskustelija. Vsk: University of Tampere, 193–206. Referenced research data: Harva, U. (1971). Luomakunnan huokaus. [The Sign of Creation.] Aamulehti 9.10.1971. Harva, U. (1978) Luontosunnuntai. [Nature Sunday.] Aamulehti 2.9.1978. Harva, U. (1979) Luonnon vikapisto. [Nature’s Mistake.] Aamulehti 17.2.1979. Harva, U. (1982c) Eläinten filmi. [Animal Film.] Aamulehti 27.11.1982. Harva, U. (1987a) Ihminen ja luonto, erottamattomat. [Human and Nature, Inalienable.] Aamulehti 18.6.1987. Harva, U. (1987c) Tuhoaako ihminen elämän? [Does the Human destroy the Nature?] Aamulehti 28.11.1987. Harva, U. (1988a) Vihreä jumaluusoppi. [Green Theology.] Aamulehti 11.1.1988. Harva, U. (1988b) Vihreää tiedettä. [Green Science.] Aamulehti 8.2.1988. Harva, U. (1988c) Kristinusko ja luonto. [Christianity and Nature.] Aamulehti 21.3.1988. Harva, U. (1988e) Väestönkasvu. [Population Growth.] Aamulehti 16.5.1988. Harva, U. (1988f) Eläinten oikeudet. [Animal Rights.] Aamulehti 30.5.1988. Harva, U. (1988g) Vihreä joulu, luonnon juhla. [Green Christmas, Nature’s Celebrity.] Aamulehti 24.12.1988. Harva, U. (1988i) Ohjelmakeskusteluun. [Discussions Concerning Program.] Vihreä lanka vol. 13/1988. Harva, U. (1989) Pentti Linkolan antihumanismi. [Pentti Linkola’s Antihumanism.] Vihreä lanka vol. 47/1989. Harva, U. (1990a) Ekoetiikka yhä tärkeämpi etiikan ala. [Ecoethics More and More Important Part of Ethics.] Aamulehti 18.3.1990. Harva, U. (1990c) Huomautuksia Vihreän Liiton ohjelmaluonnokseen. [Notifications on The Green Associations Program Draft.] Vihreä lanka vol. 8/1990. Harva, U. (1991a) Voidaanko luontoa vastaan tehdä rikos? [Can a crime be committed against nature?] Aamulehti 7.4.1991. Harva, U. (1991b) Syntymä, lisääntyminen, kuolema, suhde luontoon. [Birth, Reproduction, Death,Rrelationship with Nature.] Aamulehti 19.12.1991.