Down to Earth Ethics: Exploring Relation and Environmental Responsibility

266 Pages·2016·0.76 MB·English

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Dissertations Theses and Dissertations
2013
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Matthew Gowans
Loyola University Chicago
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Copyright © 2013 Matthew Gowans
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO
DOWN TO EARTH ETHICS: EXPLORING RELATION
AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY
A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO
THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
PROGRAM IN THEOLOGY
BY
MATTHEW GOWANS
CHICAGO, IL
MAY 2013
Copyright by Matthew Gowans, 2013.
All rights reserved
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT vi
INTRODUCTION 1
Objective and Method of the Dissertation 4
Contribution of the Dissertation 6
CHAPTER ONE: NATURE AND WESTERN THOUGHT 8
Nature and the Early Western Perspective 8
The Intellectualization of Nature 8
Nature and the God-Centered Universe 15
Nature and Modernity 26
Modernity and Humanism 26
Modernity and Mechanism 32
Modernity and Nature’s Utility 38
Modernity and Natural Magic 44
Conclusion 56
CHAPTER TWO: ALBERT SCHWEITZER AND REVERENCE FOR LIFE 58
Schweitzer’s Metaphysical Outlook 62
Christianity and the Kingdom of God 62
Schweitzer’s World Optimism 65
Reality is Will 67
Mysticism and the Limitations of Philosophy and Science 70
Schweitzer’s Epistemological Approach 77
Rooted in Rationalism 77
Fusing Mind and Heart 79
Arriving at Reverence for Life 83
Universalizing Reverence 85
Ethical Mysticism and Unity with Being 87
The Ethical Significance of Schweitzer’s Reverence for Life 90
An Ethics Based on Relationship and Action 90
The Challenge of the Ego and Elitism 93
The Challenge of Ethical Feasibility 96
The Challenge of Excessive Guilt 99
The Challenge of Pantheism 100
Schweitzer’s Evolving Thought 102
Conclusion 107
iii
CHAPTER THREE: MARTIN BUBER AND I-THOU 109
Buber’s Metaphysical Outlook 111
The I-Thou Encounter 111
Hasidism and the Problem of Evil 118
The Eternal Thou 121
Ethics and the Kingdom of God 123
Buber’s Epistemological Approach 125
The Inborn Thou 125
Genuine Dialogue and Knowledge 127
Realization and the Role of Reason 131
Symbolism and the I-Thou 133
The Ethical Significance of Buber’s I-Thou Encounter 137
An Ethics Rooted in the Tangible World 137
Taoism and Non-Action 141
The Challenge of Biased Love 144
The Challenge of Pantheism 148
The Challenge of Personification 150
Conclusion 156
CHAPTER FOUR: LEOPOLD AND THE LAND ETHIC 158
Leopold’s Metaphysical Outlook 160
Land the True Reality 160
Citizenship in the Land Community 163
The Ontological, Cultural, and Religious Significance of Land 167
The Illusion of Modern Progress 171
Leopold’s Epistemological Approach 172
Childlike Investigation 172
Empiricism and the Limits of Science 174
The Presence of Wonder and Awe 177
Standing in Relation to Land 183
The Ethical Significance of Leopold’s Thought 188
An Ethic Grounded in Studied Relation 188
Evolution of the Ecological Conscience 191
The Challenge of Anthropocentrism and Biocentrism 195
The Challenge of Personification 198
Conclusion 201
CHAPTER FIVE: SCHWEITZER, BUBER, LEOPOLD AND THE GARDEN 204
Schweitzer, Buber, and Leopold’s Unified Voice 206
Indispensable Sensation of wonder 206
iv
Mystery in a Modern World 210
The Moral Significance of Relation 214
An Argument for Engaged Practices 218
Cultivation as a Way into Praxis 220
The Garden Mystery 220
Ethics and the Gardener 223
From the Garden to Environmental Ethics 230
Exercising Dominion Over Inherently Valuable Life 236
Ecological Ethics and the Principle of Sacrifice 241
Conclusion 245
BIBLIOGRAPHY 251
VITA 259
v
ABSTRACT
This dissertation examines the question of direct engagement with the natural
world as a way of establishing certain moral and ontological truths, truths that can be
important for addressing ecological challenges. I first attempt to demonstrate the
obstacles that an ethics built upon relational encounters faces in the modern West by
considering the practical and ideological factors that structure our current views and
relationships with the natural world. I argue that the problem is not necessarily a
cosmopolitan lifestyle, but a modern worldview that has adopted the objectification of the
earth and its living entities, a view which has obstructed our awareness of values in the
natural world. To challenge this predominant worldview, I draw on the works of Albert
Schweitzer, Martin Buber, and Aldo Leopold which demonstrate an ethics that is
relational in nature, action oriented, and bound up in the mystery of life and being. They
support the proposition that the heart of ethical responsibility in general, and the motive
to care for nature in particular, are caught up in the unfathomable puzzle of relation. The
implications of this for environmental ethics are profound and I spell these out. If these
three authors are correct, today’s science, philosophy, and religious dialogue need to be
supplemented with engaged encounters with life. In the final section I consider
gardening, small farming, and ecosystem restoration projects as practical methods for
realizing the ethical and ontological boons that these thinkers envisioned.
vi
INTRODUCTION
Winona LaDuke, a Native American and Harvard graduate, has made the bold
assertion that the only sustainable ways of living upon this earth are indigenous ways.1
She bases her claim upon the premise that indigenous cultures abide by a “natural law,” a
way of life that engenders relationship, reciprocity, and gratitude. Similarly, Audrey
Shenandoah, Clan Mother of the Onondaga Nation in New York, has stressed that
indigenous peoples of the world have a “basic principle of respect, a deep love for the
land, a very real connection, a relationship to all of those elements that are mentioned in
[their] thanksgiving.”2 These authors, uniting their voices with others, believe that the
modern world is out of step with a natural order, something which has both led to our
current environmental problems and frustrated our efforts to solve them.
Reflection on these views reminds us to be wary of romanticization. Indigenous
ways have never been easy, convenient, or glamorous, nor are such communities a future
1 Winona LaDuke, “Voices from White Earth” in Susan Armstrong and Richard Botzler Environmental
Ethics: Divergence & Convergence, 248.
2 See Audrey Shanendoa’s keynote address at the fall 1990 “Spirit and Nature” symposium at Middlebury
College, reprinted in Steven Rockefeller and John Elder work Spirit and Nature: Why the Environment is a
religious Issue, 20.
1
2
likelihood for modern humans.3 Yet, honest reflection should also cause us to stop and
consider: In what meaningful way do we encounter nonhuman life today? Certainly not
in the meat or produce sections of the local market. By the time nature reaches the aisles
of the grocery store, it confronts us not as living being, but as an object, a commodity of
consumption. Our relationship with the natural world is secondary, mediated by city life
and technology.4 Urbanization and a division of labor into narrow tasks and disciplines
has successfully replaced subsistence living for exchange economies which demand
specialization. The tradeoff has been one way of life defined by intimate contact with
living things for another defined by modern convenience and security.
From this perspective, one would be hard pressed to say that the trade has not
been worth it. It means we have climate controlled environments, inoculations against
disease, refrigeration and plumbing. It means literacy rates have increased and mortality
rates have decreased. And yet, indigenous peoples the world over, despite these obvious
benefits, declare that modern civilization has lost something basic to human nature.
Could today’s estrangement from the living world deprive us of something real and
3 There is also the debate that indigenous cultures like the Native Americans were simply less empowered
to do damage to their environment, and that they would have given greater technological advancements. It
is not my intention to engage this debate. It can be safely said, however, that many such groups like the
Lokota, the Salish-speaking people and the Mistassini Cree have developed complex myths and rituals to
maintain respect for the earth the living things on it. While these people had the knowledge and skill to
exploit their resources, the myths and rituals they believed in regulated hunting practices so as not to
overtax animal populations. Refer to David Kinsley’s text Ecology and Religion, chapters 1-4. See also
John A. Grim, “Native North American Worldviews and Ecology,” in Worldviews and Ecology, 41-54.
4 Martin Heideggar, “The Question Concerning Technology,” in Martin Heidegger: Basic Writings,
283-317.
3
important? Referring to the respect and obligation the Lakota Indians felt for living
things, Luther Standing Bear wrote the following nearly eighty years ago:
This concept of life and its relations was humanizing and gave to the Lakota an
abiding love. It filled his being with the joy and mystery of living; it gave him
reverence for all life; it made a place for all things in the scheme of existence with
equal importance to all.... In spirit the Lakota was humble and meek.... His
religion was sane, normal, and human.5
Standing Bear’s reference to nature’s humanizing effect is particularly noteworthy. It
suggests that direct engagement with natural world and the ethical life are interconnected.
Recent studies have suggested that Standing Bear’s observation was not misplaced.
According to a three year study lead by Netta Weinstein, a University of Rochester
psychologist, immersion in nature made people less greedy and self-interested, and more
concerned with community values. Weinstein concludes: “Our results suggest that, to the
extent our links with nature are disrupted, we may also lose some connection with each
other.”6
Such findings are troubling considering that the modern industrial world is caught
up in an economic system and way of life that obstructs sustained intimate contact with
nature. The world is steadily on the move toward a modern urban lifestyle. According to
U.S. census figures, 6% of the U.S. population was urban in 1800. By 1900 that statistic
had risen to 40% and by 2000 it was 79% of the population.7 Still, many societies across
5 Luther Standing Bear, “Nature,” in This Sacred Earth, edited by Roger Gottlieb, 40.
6 Weinstein, et al. (2009). “Can Nature Make Us More Caring? Effects of Immersion in Nature on Intrinsic
Aspirations and Generosity.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 35, 1315-1329.
7 U.S. census figures taken from www.census.gov/population/censusdata/table-4.pdf (accessed 8/31/2011).