...What is to blame for our ecological crisis?Estela Diferretti Professor Atterton: Philosophy 332 Thesis Essay June 1, 2013 What is to blame for our ecological crisis? Today our environment is faced with constant ecologic disasters. It’s no wonder why so many academics try to search for causes, of how mankind has destroyed the environment so drastically in such a short amount of time. In the article “The Cultural Basis for Our Environmental Crisis”, author Lewis W. Moncrief presents a compelling counter argument to author Lynn White, Jr. article “The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis”. White’s claim: States Judeo-Christian traditions and technology are the sole cause for the environmental degradation that our world is currently facing. Moncrief’s claim: states Judeo-Christian traditions and technology are factors in the equation, but are not the only factors. Moncrief believes that democratization and capitalism are far greater pieces to the equation than just religion and technology. Religion and technology have vastly shaped our past and present society, but democratization and capitalism are greater factors to man’s exploitation of the earth resources and the environmental degradation. Throughout White’s essay he presents an argument stating that religion; specifically the Western Judeo-Christianity traditions and technology are the sole factors for the depletion of the earth resources and our domination mindset over the earth. White argument is broke down in several...
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...Professor Oliver Putz Religion and Ecological Crisis March 6th, 2015 Anastassja Cooper Rethinking Christian Theology Summary The question twice repeated in John F. Haught’s text “The Promise of Nature” is why we should care about the natural world. The answer that he gives us is that, should we be Christian, is it is within the doctrine; but within the perspective of Christian thought, he gives us three distinct approaches that justify caring about the natural world: The Apologetic, the Sacramental, and the Eschatological approaches. The Apologetic. The Apologetic is the closest to the original doctrine as possible, a rather recent occurrence within the church and a hardly mentioned part of the article. This method looks for scriptural passages...
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...Vicki Toscano Issues paper#1 Anthropocentrism vs. Biocentrism 1/26/2012 The Historical Roots of our ecologic crisis is an article written by Lynn T. White, Jr. published in the journal Science in 1966. White was a medieval scholar and in this article he blames technology, Christianity, and anthropocentrism as the “Roots” of our ecologic crisis. He states, “All forms of life modify their contexts,” but believes that this modification should be for the good of the earth like the coral polyp. He states Man must coexist with nature. Man had always been a dynamic element in harmony with the earth. This all changed sometime around the 1850 when the “Baconian Creed” of scientific knowledge started influencing the people. As a result man began to exploit the earth through new advents in technology. White cites the invention of the eight-oxen plow as the beginning of man’s “ruthlessness” towards nature. White continues to argue that Christian Axioms fueled this newfound exploitive attitude towards earth. To White, Christianity’s story of creation and notion that “no item in the physical creation had any purpose save to serve man’s purpose (White).” only served to justify these actions and put Christianity as “the most anthropocentric religion the world has seen.” White continues to argue that simply applying more science and more technology to our ecologic crisis is not going to solve the problem. To him the issue is essentially religious. White suggests a Franciscan model towards...
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...than the others would be foolish and simplistic, but within each belief system there lie subtle differences that, many argue, give an indication as to how we view our position in relation to it. As Lynn White proposed in an cutting-edge yet controversial article, "The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis" published in 1967: "What people do about their ecology depends on what they think about themselves in relation to things around them. Human ecology is deeply conditioned by beliefs about our nature and destiny -- that is, by religion." (White 406). Christianity, wrote White, "not only established a dualism of man and nature but also insisted that it is God's will that man exploit nature for his proper ends." (White 407). Christianity marked the moment humans broke away from previously common held beliefs that all beings, all forms of life, including plants, had spirits. He wrote: "In Antiquity every tree, every spring, every stream, every hill had its own genius loci, its guardian spirit" (White 407). Then Christianity changed everything. Christians believed that humans were created at the end of Creation and humans therefore possessed the Earth. "By destroying pagan animism, Christianity made it possible to exploit nature in a mood of indifference to the feelings of natural objects.”...
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...Sustainability Review Test 1 1) Kenneth E. Boulding—“Economics of the Coming Spaceship Earth” * English (1910-1993), Professor at U. of Michigan, U of Colorado * Economist, educator, peace advocate, Quaker, systems scientists, interdisciplinary philosopher * We are approaching a closed system and how it is going to be tough for us * Neither receivers inputs nor outputs * i.e. self-contained * Today we are in an open mind approaching a closed one * Morals are keeping us in the open for now * Econospherethe total worth of everything we have * Fossil fuel is buried sunshine * Shift from Cowboy Economy—people believe that there are unlimited shits, i.e. like the wild west to Spaceship Economy * Spaceship Economywe have only brought enough food/resources for the people we are carrying and must make it last for as long as we can * Stresses resource management * Doesn’t really consider environmental impact as much as more about conservation * Focuses more on population vs. environmental impact * Entropy (?) * Spaceman Economy living within our means, don’t worship production vs. costs… more conservation concerned * Fracking is a good example of us still in a cowboy mode although we are shifting toward Spaceman * Reference to Ethics—ethics, it is us, it is a plural term… we have an ethical obligation to think of future generations * Solutions at the end...
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...Sustainability Review Test 1 1) Kenneth E. Boulding—“Economics of the Coming Spaceship Earth” * English (1910-1993), Professor at U. of Michigan, U of Colorado * Economist, educator, peace advocate, Quaker, systems scientists, interdisciplinary philosopher * We are approaching a closed system and how it is going to be tough for us * Neither receivers inputs nor outputs * i.e. self-contained * Today we are in an open mind approaching a closed one * Morals are keeping us in the open for now * Econospherethe total worth of everything we have * Fossil fuel is buried sunshine * Shift from Cowboy Economy—people believe that there are unlimited shits, i.e. like the wild west to Spaceship Economy * Spaceship Economywe have only brought enough food/resources for the people we are carrying and must make it last for as long as we can * Stresses resource management * Doesn’t really consider environmental impact as much as more about conservation * Focuses more on population vs. environmental impact * Entropy (?) * Spaceman Economy living within our means, don’t worship production vs. costs… more conservation concerned * Fracking is a good example of us still in a cowboy mode although we are shifting toward Spaceman * Reference to Ethics—ethics, it is us, it is a plural term… we have an ethical obligation to think of future generations * Solutions at the end...
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...So while you could read each of these passages as meaning something completely different from one other. That just is not how they were meant to read one is meant to put the other into context. I can by no means disagree at least in part that White is right. Like many complex issue throughout history of the western world they can no doubt that people has use their faith to justify polluting the earth. With that being said all faiths not just those of Abrahamic family have been use to validate a whole host of other complex issues just to name a few totalitarianism, war, and persecution. However, I completely disagree that it is the reason for the ecological crisis. It has just one of the many justification that has been use by many. The root cause is much more...
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...Asia, how Asian states related to each other, and how Western ideas of international relations have transformed these relations. The unit has two strands, each considering a set of ideas. First it examines the great religions/philosophies of Asian societies – Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and Confucianism – have influenced them. It then considers international relations theory and how theories can help us understand the complexities of Asian states’ relations with each other and the wider world. Credit point value 10 Pre-requisites Nil Co-requisites Nil Unit/s incompatible with and not to be counted for credit Nil Unit level 1 Assumed knowledge None Attendance requirements Attendance below 80% at tutorials without due cause may constitute grounds for failure. Non-attendance in tutorials for illness or misadventure or other reasons should be documented and submitted to the unit coordinator upon return. Enrolment restrictions Nil Unit learning outcomes Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to: • identify of the diversity and complexity of Asia; • explain the social manifestations and international political impact of Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism and Confucianism in an Asian context; • evaluate the balance between continuity and change in Asian traditions and contemporary societies; • conduct research on traditional and modern concepts of international relations, particularly in an Asian context; • understand the main...
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...A Christian View of the Environment Ray Bohlin V. The source of our ecological crisis lies in man's fallen nature and abuse of his dominion. 1. Man is a rebel who has set himself at the center of the universe. 1. Man has used his dominion wrongly. 2. Man has exploited created things as though they are nothing in themselves and as though he has an autonomous right to use them as he pleases. 2. Man's fallen nature has expressed itself with regard to the creation in his use of time and money. 3. Man's uncontrolled greed and haste have led to the deterioration of the environment. 4. We have been guided by the maxim that what we can do, we will do, particularly if it is the least time-consuming and least expensive alternative. V. The solution to the environmental crisis is the witness of the Christian community within the proper relationship between God, man, and nature. 1. We are called to exhibit our dominion rightly. 1. As Christians we must treat nature as having value in itself and exercise dominion without being destructive (Matt. 6:26, 10:29). 2. This requires both a human and economic cost. 3. There are numerous Old Testament examples of the care with which Israel was to treat the environment. 1. Israel was to care for the land (Lev. 25: 1–12). 2. Israel was to treat domesticated animals properly and respect wildlife (Deut. 25:4 and...
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...TASK 1: CURRENT ISSUES IN GLOBAL ECONOMY (FUTUROLOGY) Identify the key trends likely to affect Elecdyne over the next 5 years (these can be different / additional to those identified by the futurologist) • Economic crisis: Even if Japan is not affected like Europe, the government had launch a stimulative policy in order to improve the current situation. Many Japanese companies are impacted by this general economic conditions. • Sustainability: Companies such as Elecdyne have to take care of the public opinion about ecology which is requiring more and more transparency. • Evolution of consumption: Globalization and new technologies have changed the way people purchase. For example, online sales are increasing because of the number of Internet users and this occurs mostly in the electronic sector. Online shopping is more convenient and time saving which appeals to young people. Although old people tend to shop in regular shops, more and more young people prefer shopping online rather than in shops. • Counterfeit goods: In regions like Asia but also throughout the world, a large number of original goods are copied by look-alike products. This is positive for the costumers, because usually the look-alike products are much cheaper, but on the other hand it influences the original produts’ producers a lot, because a lot of people are price seekers which means they tend to buy goods which are cheap. STEEP Analysis We chose to do the STEEP Analysis, because it touches all...
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...Clearly few things rile people up more than religion and politics. These controversial topics fascinate and titillate the best of us including William H. Jennings, author of Storms over Genesis and Professor of Religion, Emeritus, at Muhlenberg College. His investigative work into the interpretations of the first three chapters of the most famous book in the world, the Bible, gives the reader insight into the environmentalist views, feminist views, and those of creationists. By seeking clarification of the various creation stories, Jennings tries to illuminate the current scholarly views of this ancient text including the origin and timeline of the Earth. The Earth has been in existence for quite some time. Just how long is still unknown, but scientists, especially environmental Darwinists, estimate the Earth is 4.55 billion years old (Jennings 86). But the date of Earth’s origin and the presence of man are two separate questions depending on if one relies on biblical references or stories, creationism, which put the age of the world, the beginning of creation between 6,000-10,000 years (77) or modern science. A Gallup poll found supporters of each side to be fairly split, forty-six percent towards creationism and thirty-six percent pointing to Darwinism as the correct derivation (88). Why is the question of Earth’s origin so germane? According to many, because Genesis only deals with God’s creation of man in His image, and science can prove the existence of “pre-Adam” man dating...
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...We all hear about this word at one point and time in our lives… climate change. Hot summers, cold winters, and bush fires, air pollution and rising sea levels, yet no one seems to question what the cause is of this issue. Who is directly involved and what are stakeholders such as the Australian government, economy and the Christian perspective doing in order to combat this issue. According to UNFCC climate change is defined as “ a change in climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that changes the composition of the global atmosphere in which is in addition to the natural climate variability observed over a compatible time periods”. Greenhouse effect is defined by the Australian Academy for Science as a barrier that traps heat energy in order to keep the planet warm. The average temperature ...
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...Global Business Cultural Analysis: China LaTasha Baker GRST 500/501 Abstract Since the beginning of time when Adam and Eve left the garden, people have been increasing the geographic realm of their economics, political, social and ethnicity contacts. People begin connecting with other nationalities all of the world. This relationship provide wealth and progress along with adverse disputes within the relationship of countries (MacEwan, 2001). There are many reasons why companies covet to develop their business to other countries. There are many difficulties and a wide-range of benefits when a company expands globally outside of their cultural. When a company conduct business outside of their zone; research is required, patients, and a learning process. China and the United States has learned how to work international with business over the past years. The alliance between organizations, partnerships and private sectors has been the reason for the growth between the two countries. While concentrating on the customs, culture, language, anti-corruption and economic implications. You will explore the Chinese culture and its impact on local business structures. The comparison of China and the United States in regards to its cultural analysis will be provided, along with the implications for the United States businesses that wish to conduct business in China. Major Elements and Dimensions of Culture in China China Business Ethics Business ethics is the principal...
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...mistakes. 2|Page GUJARAT NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: Introduction…….………………………………………………………..4 Chapter 2: Causes of water Conflicts…………..………………………………….5 Chapter 3: Some Major Conflicts in the Middle East……………………………..6 Chapter 4: Remedial Measures…………..……………………………………….11 Chapter 5: Conclusion………………………………………………………..….....13 References..……………………………………………………………14 3|Page GUJARAT NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY I. Introduction The Middle-east is a region encompassing Western Asia and all or parts of North Africa, depending on the context in which the term is used. The history of the Middle-east dates far back and it has been a major centre of world affairs. It has been the cradle of multiple religions like Christianity, Islam, Judaism, etc. In modern times the Middle East remains a strategically, economically, politically, culturally and religiously sensitive region. The Middle-east comprises of mostly arid or semi-arid regions. The Middle-East has only 1% of the world’s water shared among 5% of the...
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...GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND DIPLOMACY STUDENT GUIDELINE NOTES GLOBAL POLITICAL ECONOMY MODULE Paste the notes here… Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government. Political economy originated in moral philosophy (e.g. Adam Smith was Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Glasgow), it developed in the 18th century as the study of the economies of states — polities, hence political economy. In late nineteenth century, the term "political economy" was generally replaced by the term economics, used by those seeking to place the study of economy upon mathematical and axiomatic bases, rather than the structural relationships of production and consumption (cf. marginalism, Alfred Marshall). History of the term Originally, political economy meant the study of the conditions under which production was organized in the nation-states. The phrase économie politique (translated in English as political economy) first appeared in France in 1615 with the well known book by Antoyne de Montchrétien: Traicté de l’oeconomie politique. French physiocrats, Adam Smith, David Ricardo and Karl Marx were some of the exponents of political economy. In 1805, Thomas Malthus became England's first professor of political economy, at the East India Company College, Haileybury, Hertfordshire. The world's first professorship in political economy was established...
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