gandhian alternative to global warming
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Gandhian
Alternative toHeating the
Globe
R.KUMARAN
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We are living on this
planet as if we hadanother one to go to
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The world has enough for everyone‟s needs but not for
everyone's greed - Gandhiji
The Way to do is to be , not tohave
-Lao-Tse
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Be the change you want to see in the world
Gandhi was once asked if he expected India to attain the same standardof living as Britain. He replied:
It took Britain half the resources of the planet to achieve this prosperity.How many planets will a country like India require!
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…the „science‟ behind the „myth‟…
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What is good for the human?
What is good for the system?
The essential nature of human being – Greed,competitive, egotism
Societies in which egotism, selfishness, and greed didnot exist were supposed to be primitive," theirinhabitants "childlike." People refused to recognize that
these traits were not natural drives that causedindustrial society to exist, but that they were the products
of social circumstances.
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Sustainability
We would need FOUR planets if every oneconsumed as much as the average American
We would need TWO planets if every one
consumed as much as the average European Meanwhile, India, China etc. are copying
our consumption patterns
Something has got to change and the bestplace to start is with waste
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if fundamental changes in the values and attitudes of man occur [or as I would call it, in humancharacter orientation], such as a new ethic and a new
attitude toward nature“
that our present social order makes us sick, andthat we are headed for an economic catastropheunless we radically change our social system.
For the first time in history the physical survival of
the human race depends on a radical change of the human
heart
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Ethical Principles
Universalists – fundamental principles of ethics are universal, unchanging, andeternal.
introduced by Plato and Kant
ethical rules are valid regardless of our interests, attitudes, desires, or
preferences. these rules are revealed by God or discovered through reason and
knowledge.
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Ethical Principles
Relativists - Claim moral principles are alwaysrelative to a particular person, society, orsituation.
advanced by the Sophists
no transcendent, absolute principles apply
regardless of circumstances. “There are no facts, only interpretations”
Friedrich Nietzsche’s aphorism
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Ethical Principles
Nihilists - Claim morality is arbitrary thus thereis no reason to behave morally or to be “good”.
Advanced by Schopenhauer
Claim that the world makes no sense at all There is no meaning or purpose in life other than the dark, instinctive, unceasing struggle for
existence
“Might is right; eat or be eaten!”
No such thing as “good life”! – uncertainty, pain, despair prevail
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Ethical Principles
Utilitarians - Believe an action is right that produces thegreatest good for the greatest number of people.
associated with Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) Hedonism – equate goodness with happiness and
happiness with pleasure
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) – makes utilitarianism less
hedonistic. (pleasures of intellect superior than that of body)
Gifford Pinchot and early conservationists – purpose of
conservation is “for the greatest good for the greatest number
for the longest time”.
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ECOCENTRISM
Water Cycle
Infiltration
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WORLDVIEWS
Anthropocentric View -Human-centered.
“humans as more
important than any otherspecies”
“Be fruitful, and multiply, and
replenish the earth, and subdue it;and have dominion over the fish of
the sea, and over the fowl of theair, and over every living thing thatmoveth upon the earth” (Genesis
1:28)
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WORLDVIEWS
Stewardship View - Custodian of resources.
• Indigenous peoples,traditional agriculturalsocieties, modern farmers
“We have a responsibility to manage and care for a particular place”
Humility and reverence are essential in this worldview, where humans are seen as partners in the natural process rather than
masters.
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TRUSTEESHIP
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WORLDVIEWS
Ecofeminism - argue that mostphilosophies came from a patriarchalsystem based on domination andduality that assigns prestige andimportance to some things but not toothers.
Patriarchal worldview (1) men aresuperior over women (2) minds betterthan bodies (3) progress higher thannature
• Contend that domination, exploitation,and mistreatment of women, children,minorities, and nature are intimately connected and mutually reinforcing.
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Ecofeminism
pluralistic
Nonhierarchical
Relationship-oriented
philosophy
Humans must reconceive themselves and their
relationship with nature in
nondominating ways and instead
cooperation rather than competition, network
of personal relationships rather than isolated
egos
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ECOFEMINISM What is Ecofeminism?
• Ecofeminism integrates ecology and feminism.
1. Women are believed to be closer to nature.Therefore, ecofeministstake on life-struggles of all of nature as their own.2. There is no hierarchy in nature.
3. A balanced ecosystem must maintain diversity.4. Ecofeminism attempts to convey a new understanding and awarenessof nature.
Ecofeminists, also known as ecological feminists, are women who analyze theinterconnections between the status of women and the status of nature.
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For example:
Vandana Shiva
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Worldviews and Ethical Perspectives
WORLD VIEWS AND ETHICAL
PERSPECTIVES : Summary
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To make possible for the world to achieve
sustainable development, we must:
1.
increase energy efficiency,2. reduce dependence on fossil fuels,
3. develop renewable energies,
4. maintain biodiversity,5. examine our population policies, and
6. protect our living environment and ecosystems.
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Our real task is to fightover-consumption
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“The world has enough foreveryone‟s need
but not for everyone‟s greed”
Mahatma Gandhi
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Not only is
over-consumption giving us a local waste crisis
but also…
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A Global Crisis:
Since the Industrial Revolution
we have imposed a linear society on a planet that functions in
circles
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A LINEAR SOCIETY
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Extraction
A LINEAR SOCIETY
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Extraction Production
A LINEAR SOCIETY
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Extraction Production Consumption
A LINEAR SOCIETY
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Extraction Production Consumption Waste
A LINEAR SOCIETY
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Extraction Production Consumption Waste
Advertising/TV
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Over-advertising
produces
Over-consumption
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By the t ime a high school
student leaves school , he or she
w i ll have watched over 350,000 TV commerc ials .
Paul HawkenThe Ecology of Commerce.
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Myth versus Reality
THE MYTH:
The more you consume the happier you become
THE REALITY:
The more you consume the fatter you become! And the more waste you produce
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Man
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Modern Man!
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Nondualistic & nonhierarchical
Versus Patriarchy as dualistic & hierarchical
The world is fundamentally an interrelated web of
relationships.
The world is fundamentally egalitarian rather than
hierarchical. Dualities and hierarchies are social constructions
of patriarchy, not essential qualities of the world.
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Holistic understanding
Versus Patriarchy in the form of rationalism
We are emotional and bodily beings as much as weare rational beings.
Emotions are essential to being fully human andthey offer us a critical window to the world.
The body and the senses are essential to being fullyhuman and they are necessary to realizing ourconnection with the world.
A rationalist approach that cuts itself off fromemotions and the body will be distorted.
We need to affirm our emotional and bodilyexistence and integrate reason into that.
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Contextual knowledge
Versus Patriarchy‟s view of knowledge as objective & universal
We are always embedded in specific contexts:
social relationships, historical moments,specific cultures, and local environments.
The attempt to “transcend” those contexts byachieving an objective, universal view is
impossible. A supposedly objective view cuts us off from
our essential relatedness, giving a false view of the world and keeps us from fulfilling ourrelationships.
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Pluralism
Versus Patriarchy‟s view that there is only one true perspective — ours.
There is no single true perspective. That ideaand ideal has been historically associated with
imperialism and colonialism. We need to recognize the validity of various
views and affirm a multiplicity of voices.
What we should seek is an open dialogue
among these views and voices. An attempt to achieve a single, monolithic view
silences those who lack cultural power (e.g., women, minorities, third world).
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Communitarianism
Versus Patriarchy‟s atomistic individualism
People are essentially not individuals but selvesin and of a community, intrinsically related to
other people and the earth. We are distinct individuals, but in the sense of
having a unique set of relationships, not inbeing autonomous and independent of others.
These relationships mean that our identity iscomplex and multiple.
The ideal is to realize our individuality -- as anintegral part of the communities we live in.
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Non-Materiality
Culturalise and Ethicalise Poverty
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Culturalise and Ethicalise Povertyand Development
Social Origin of poverty
Social Production of poverty
Poverty as scarcity and Lack Conditions of poverty and poverty as condition
Questioning wealth-making rather than attacking
poverty. Tracing poverty of not just individual but even
the society to individual psyche and personality
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The invention of the poor, is to exonerate theresourceful minority from the criminality of polluting the world and destroying it.
In the name of eradication of poverty, theresourceful converts everyone into their world view
But the obstacles for poor from emancipating
themselves from demeaning visions of development comes not from the poor but fromthe rich
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We need to re-vison our ways of wealth making and our relationship with wealth
Economisation of life has to give to way to non-materialisation and collectivisation
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Ethics of care
Versus Patriarchy‟s rationally determined justice Ethics begins with our essential
interrelatedness, not autonomy as individuals.
Our interrelatedness locates us in a situation of responsibility to others, naturally caring forthem (as long as we are open to ourconnections).
Ethics are developed not by rationallydetermining justice but by deepening ourawareness of our interrelatedness andextending our natural caring.
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Power-with
Versus Patriarchy‟s drive to maintain power over others.
The urge for “power-over” comes from a desirefor domination. It is top down and authoritarian.
Power-with is an alternative, the power thatcomes from collaboration of fellow members of acommunity.
Democracy is inherently a system of power-with,
from the ground up, inclusive of all groups. Our culture, politics, and economics should
reflect power-with rather than power-over.
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Progress
Versus Patriarchy‟s notion of progress is domination over nature and other cultures in pursuit of material affluence.
The spread of patriarchal civilization is not true progress but rather the extension of the domination of those in power.
Individual and cultural diversity, like biodiversity, arethe basis for cultural health and richness.
True progress comes from a multiplicity of individualsand cultures working in dialogue and cooperation.
The ideal is to empower diverse individuals andcultures and engage them in cultural, political, andenvironmental processes.