Animism and Traditional Ecological Knowledge
Introduction In my last post on Gaia, I briefly discussed Bron Taylor’s concept of dark green religion, which he suggests is: A deep sense of belonging to and connectedness to …
Gaia: Science or Religion?
The Science of Gaia. One of the most influential ideas that informs environmental thinking is James Lovelock’s theory of Gaia. Lovelock suggests that the ‘the entire surface of the Earth, …
Think Like a Mountain: A Land Ethic and Deep Ecology.
Introduction In a previous post I have mentioned three major approaches to understanding the relationship between humans and other beings. These are: Ecocentrism can be defined as: A picture of …
Animal Rights
In this post I will be addressing the issue of whether animals have rights. This issue is primarily about the extent of our ethical responsibilities. It is a companion piece …
Are Hindus Vegetarian?
Introduction In my last post I discussed the environmental and ethical reasons for adopting a vegetarian diet. In this post, I will look at religious reasons for excluding meat from …
Vegetarianism, Ethics and the Environment
Personal Introduction In my early 20s I became a vegetarian. There were two interconnected reasons for my decision: curiosity and ethical. CuriosityIn my early 20s I had a friend who …
Environmental Justice
Introduction As I indicated in an earlier post, the environmental crisis faced by our planet is not merely a practical problem that requires a technological solution, it is also a …
Alternative Technology: Small is Beautiful
Introduction I was fortunate to work at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT), running their vegetarian restaurant, in the early 1980s. In this post, I focus on CAT as a …
Environmentalism Before the Environmental Movement
Introduction In his detailed history of what he calls ‘the age of ecology’ Joachim Radkau argues that there has been a paradigm shift in recent times in our responses to …
John Muir: The Sacralisation of Nature
Introduction In my introduction to philosophy, religion and the environment I indicated that one can make a distinction between instrumentalist and romantic views of nature. The instrumentalist view suggests that …