Lynn White Jr essay - Judeo Christian tradition
responsible for current environmental crisis
Peter Singer: Practical
Ethics, 1979
The Western Tradition: culture/nature
based on Hebrew & Greek traditions both
make human beings center of the
moral universe
(Gen 1: 26 -30): let them have dominion over the fish of the
sea, and over the fowl in the air, and over the earth, and over
every creeping thing that creepth upon the earth
Thomas Aquinas melded Christian
and Greek traditions; Aristotle's
theory that those with less reasoning
ability exist for the sake of those with
more
Aquinas: no possibility of sinning against
non human animals or the natural world;
only against neighbor and God
some gentler e.g. Francis of Assisi;
but above dominant view
debate of meaning of 'dominion'
to look after in the name of God...?
but biblical floods; 'And the fear of you
and the dread of you shall be upon
every beast of the earth'; to act in a
way that causes fear is not improper
'Doth god care for oxen?' asked
Paul; rhetorical; ofc not!
humans centered moral framework;
nature has no intrinsic
value
but does not rule out preservation for the sake
of human benefit; couches conservation in
terms of effect on humans
future generations argument
A Jewish Perspective:
Tirosh - Samuelson,
2005
why is there a limited interest in
environmentalism in Judaism?
'saving the whales is not a Jewish issue' Conservative Rabbi; focus
resources on securing Israel and future of Jewish people instead
desacrilization and instrumentalisation
of nature >> 'burden of guilt'
Seyyed Hossein Nasr: 'crisis of values';
religions being the primary source of values
are implicated for decisions re environment
Schama:
Landscape &
Memory
'nature' as cultural construct
'landscape is the work of the mind. Its
scenery is built as much from strata of
memory as from layers of rock'
the act of naming the 'wilderness'
presupposes human presence; the
wilderness does not locate or name itself
world = we see it as outside ourselves
but it is only a representation of what we
experience inside (Margritte, 1938)
religion as tool?
WWF conference 1986
5 major world religions; expanded to 9
teachings on how their religions
were related to conservation
held in Assisi
Prince Phillip: Alliance of Religions
and Conservation
emphase pro environmental aspects of religion
Confucianism: force for greener China?
International Confucian Ecology Alliance est 2013
working with Chinese gov to deliver 100 lectures on the subject
creating model village of good practice
annual Confucian festival of Qing Ming; 300 mil
pilgrims; aim to tackle littering and burnt offerings
almost completely
eradicated in Cultural
Revolution; recent
revival; moral force
Hambler - 2004
utilitarian vs non
utilitarian answers to
'why conserve?'
demography
population growth huge strain
'go forth and multiply' Judaism pronataist; Christianity pronatalist (monks,
nuns, no sex outside of marriage, no contraception)