Towards a Cosmotheandric

Environmentalism

a vignette
A wealthy eccentric bought a house in a
neighborhood I know. The house was surrounded
by a beautiful display of grass, plants, and flowers,
and it was shaded by a huge old avocado tree. But
the grass required cutting, the flowers needed
tending, and the man wanted more sun. So he cut
the whole lot down and covered the yard with
asphalt. After all it was his property and he was
not fond of plants. (from Thomas E. Hill)

theses
(1) that our manner of relation to nature is defined by
certain tacit systems of values;
(2) that the explicitation of these tacit systems of
values is the first step in clarifying the
ambiguities of our relationship with nature; and
(3) that the most tenable option in environmental
discourse is one that affirms and gives
recognition to each component or factors
involved in environmental philosophy itself.

Nature! We are surrounded by her and

locked in her clasp: powerless to leave her,
and powerless to come closer to her.
Without asking us or warning us she takes
us up into the whirl of her dance, and
hurries on with us until we are weary and
fall from her arms. (Goethe)

aRb
R is the formalized definition of
interaction, of whatever manner,
between two distinct entities. If we
follow up this further, a deeper
analysis of R discloses tacit
prepositions that circumscribe the
character(s) of this relation

Beliefs as Systems of
Values
Paul Shepards notion of perception
Jim Cheneys notion of modes of
comportment or etiquette
Beliefs have certain determinations that
borrow from our own subjectivity (how we
find meaning in the world), and certain
contextuality, a Lebenswelt that shapes our
own existential comportment to a certain
World.
Belief = the condition of possibility of
knowledge itself

Sets of Beliefs
Cosmocentric
Anthropocentric
Theocentric

Cosmocentric: the Web of

Life
Homo religiosus = it was an experience
rooted in their own experience of the environment
that surrounds them, of nature itself. It was not a
case of God or gods revealing himself or
themselves in majesty and glory (theophany), but
simply the revelation of something different,
something totally other, a sacred revealing itself in
stones, trees, celestial objects (what Eliade calls
hierophany).

Anthropocentric: Man to
Subdue Nature
From a preoccupation with the cosmos and its inherent
concord, human beings have come to focus on
themselves, naturally, as their own issue of survival was
at stake.
An anthropocentric belief is a system of values where
nature is seen fundamentally as a resource, and hence,
needs to be conserved. On this regard, it basically has a
utilitarian function, that is, to serve the needs of human
beings.
Anthropocentrism is essentially an alienation from
nature.

characteristics
Anthropocentrism does not only embrace
conservation, but likewise embraces, what
William Jordan calls restoration.
in wilderness is the preservation of the
world. (H. D. Thoreau)

Theocentric: From God in

Nature to God of Nature
A good number of environmental commentators
argue that precisely because the image of the
divine is wiped clean in the mystery that envelops
nature itself, the implied tendency is to totally
devalue nature and be under human beings
dominion.
Within a theocentric belief system, nature is not
only an abode of evil or a passing phase, but has
taken on a sacramental meaning.

S O [ Y]
Humanity Nature [ God]

Characteristics
First thing observable is that human beings
have come to perceive and profoundly
grasp the cycles of seasons. They
participate in nature.
Second, the cosmocentric belief system
recognizes the inherent value found in
nature itself.
Third, a rethinking of our relationship with
the world