Description
Book SynopsisIn this volume, prominent Buddhist scholar Donald Swearer posits that the future requires a radical shift toward living in recognition of the interdependence of all life forms and the consequent ethic of communality and a life style of moderation or “enoughness” that flows from that recognition, which he calls “an ecology of human flourishing.”
Trade ReviewFrom the Foreword on, this book challenges—from multiple perspectives—the prevailing ‘modern’ paradigm of ecological and social individualism. Individual affluence is not sustainable in a milieu of widening human deprivation and ecological collapse; nor will your well-meaning voluntary individual self-restraint stanch poverty, pollution, and climate change. Only with a visceral collective recognition that we are all embedded absolutely and inextricably in complex, interdependent eco-social networks—accompanied by determined collective action—will there emerge genuine ecologies of human flourishing. -- J. Baird Callicott, University Distinguished Research Professor, Department of Philosophy and Religion Studies, University of North Texas, and author of
Beyond the Land Ethic: More Essays in Environmental PhilosophyWith its splendid list of learned and wise contributors, and its focus on perhaps the single most important religious, moral, and political question of our time, this volume makes a highly significant contribution. We are fortunate to have it. -- Roger S. Gottlieb, Professor of Philosophy, Department of Humanities and Arts, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and author of
A Greener Faith and
Engaging Voices: Tales of Morality and Meaning in an Age of Global Warming
