Waubonsee Community College

The cosmic common good, religious grounds for ecological ethics, Daniel P. Scheid

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

index present

non fiction

The cosmic common good

bibliography

913829518

Daniel P. Scheid

religious grounds for ecological ethics

As ecological degradation continues to threaten permanent and dramatic changes for life on our planet, the question of how we can protect our imperiled Earth has become more pressing than ever before. In this book, Daniel Scheid draws on Catholic social thought to construct what he calls the "cosmic common good," a new norm for interreligious ecological ethics. This ethical vision sees humans as an intimate part of the greater whole of the cosmos, emphasizes the simultaneous instrumental and intrinsic value of nature, and affirms the integral connection between religious practice and the pursuit of the common good. When ecologically reoriented, Catholic social thought can point the way toward several principles of the cosmic common good, such as the virtue of Earth solidarity and the promotion of Earth rights. These are rooted in the classical doctrines of creation in Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, and in Thomas Berry's interpretation of the evolutionary cosmic story. The cosmic common good can also be found in Hindu, Buddhist, and American Indian religious traditions. By placing a Catholic cosmic common good in dialogue with Hindu dharmic ecology, Buddhist interdependence, and American Indian balance with all our relations, Scheid constructs a theologically authentic moral framework that re-envisions humanity's role in the universe

Introduction -- 1. The cosmic common good as a ground for interreligious ecological ethics. I. Imperiled Earth and religious responses ; II. Twofold approach : Catholic social thought and other religious traditions ; III. Outline of chapters -- Part I: A Catholic cosmic common good. 2. A Catholic cosmic common good : overview and prospects. I. The common good and human dignity in Catholic social thought ; II. Catholic social thought and cosmic common good ; III. Scientific grounds for the cosmic common good ; IV. Theological grounds for the cosmic common good ; V. Why a cosmic common good? ; VI. Features of a Catholic cosmic common good ; VII. Conclusion -- 3. Classical sources for a Catholic cosmic common good : Augustine and Thomas Aquinas. I. Introduction ; II. A fivefold cosmic common good ; III. Implications for a Catholic cosmic common good -- 4. Thomas Berry and an evolutionary Catholic cosmic common good. I. Introduction ; II. The cosmic story ; III. The threefold nature of the universe ; IV. Implications for a Catholic cosmic common good -- 5. Earth solidarity. I. Solidarity in Catholic social thought ; II. The virtue of solidarity ; III. Solidarity expanded : Earth solidarity ; IV. Dimensions of earth solidarity ; V. Conclusion -- 6. Earth rights. I. Rights in Catholic social thought ; II. Rights expanded : justifications for Earth rights ; III. Earth rights ; IV. A Catholic cosmic common good, Earth solidarity and Earth rights : conclusion -- Part II: The cosmic common good and interreligious ecological ethics. 7. Comparative theology and ecological ethics. I. Overview of comparative theology ; II. Comparative ecological ethics -- 8. Hindu traditions : Dharmic ecology. I. Dharma in Hindu traditions ; II. Dharmic ecology : theocentrism and the intrinsic dignity of creatures ; III. The Ātman (self) and the transmigration of souls ; IV. Common good of mother Earth ; V. Dharmic rituals as embedded ecology ; VI. Ahim̥sā and vegetarianism ; VII. Implications for a Catholic cosmic common good -- 9. Buddhist traditions : interdependence -- I. Pratītyasamutpāda/Dependent origination as a cosmological principle ; II. Pratītyasamutpāda/Interdependence as an ecological principle : Thich Nhat Hanh ; III. Pratītyasamutpāda/Interdependence as an ecological principle : Joanna Macy ; IV. The jeweled net of Indra ; V. Implications for a Catholic cosmic common good -- 10. American Indian traditions : balance with all our relations. I. Indigenous traditions and systemic violence ; II. Four features of American Indian worldviews and their ecological implications ; III. The Lakota ; IV. Lakota spatiality as implicit critique of Amer-European temporality ; V. Self-critical implications for a Catholic cosmic common good -- Conclusion: An interreligious cosmic common good