Heap Paradox vis-a-vis Environmental Psychology and Environmental Education

Abstract

The “heap paradox” is a controversial phenomenon – it contradicts the ambiguity of some concepts such as “heap.” The discussion led us to think about how to draw the line of demarcation between the words “heap” and “non-heap.” Let's start with a pile of sand and gradually begin to remove one grain from its contents; when would it cease to exist to be a pile of sand? This paradox shows that our everyday words and concepts are not always accurate enough to capture the nuances of reality. In general, in case of adding a small amount of pollutant, everyone thinks that the environment was polluted before; so, what more have I just done? Environmental psychology is a branch psychology that studies how people interact with the physical environment around them and the operation of the “heap paradox” in their mind in time of interactions with the physical environment. Environmental psychology and environmental education can complement each other; these two branches of knowledge actually promote understanding the relationship between humans and nature.