Gandhian Alternative to Heating the Globe

R.KUMARAN

We are living on this planet as if we had another one to go to

The world has enough for everyones needs but not for everyone's greed - Gandhiji

The Way to do is to be, not to have -Lao-Tse

Gandhi was once asked if he expected India to attain the same standard Be the change you want to see in the world of 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!

the science behind the myth

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 did not exist were supposed to be primitive," their inhabitants "childlike." People refused to recognize that these traits were not natural drives that caused industrial society to exist, but that they were the products of social circumstances.

Sustainability

We would need FOUR planets if every one consumed 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 best place to start is with waste

if fundamental changes in the values and attitudes of man occur [or as I would call it, in human character orientation], such as a new ethic and a new attitude toward nature that our present social order makes us sick, and that we are headed for an economic catastrophe unless 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

Ethical Principles

Universalists fundamental principles of ethics are universal, unchanging, and eternal.

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.

Ethical Principles
Relativists

- Claim moral principles are always relative to a particular person, society, or situation.
advanced by the Sophists no transcendent, absolute principles apply regardless of circumstances. There are no facts, only interpretations Friedrich Nietzsches aphorism

Ethical Principles

Nihilists - Claim morality is arbitrary thus there is 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

Ethical Principles
Utilitarians

- Believe an action is right that produces the greatest 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.

ECOCENTRISM
Water Cycle

Infiltration

WORLDVIEWS

Anthropocentric ViewHuman-centered. humans as more important than any other species

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 the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth (Genesis 1:28)

WORLDVIEWS

Stewardship View- Custodian of resources. Indigenous peoples, traditional agricultural societies, 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.

TRUSTEESHIP

WORLDVIEWS

Ecofeminism -

argue that most philosophies came from a patriarchal system based on domination and duality that assigns prestige and importance to some things but not to others. Patriarchal worldview (1) men are superior over women (2) minds better than bodies (3) progress higher than nature Contend that domination, exploitation, and mistreatment of women, children, minorities, and nature are intimately connected and mutually reinforcing.

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

ECOFEMINISM

What is Ecofeminism?
Ecofeminism integrates ecology and feminism.

1. Women are believed to be closer to nature.Therefore, take 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 of nature.

ecofeminists

and awareness

Ecofeminists, also known as ecological feminists, are women who analyze the interconnections between the status of women and the status of nature.

For example: Vandana Shiva

WORLD VIEWS AND ETHICAL PERSPECTIVES : Summary Worldviews and Ethical Perspectives

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.

Our real task is to fight over-consumption

The world has enough for everyones need but not for everyones greed Mahatma Gandhi

Not only is over-consumption giving us a local waste crisis but also

A Global Crisis:
Since the Industrial Revolution we have imposed a linear society on a planet that functions in circles

A LINEAR SOCIETY

A LINEAR SOCIETY

Extraction

A LINEAR SOCIETY

Extraction

Production

A LINEAR SOCIETY

Extraction

Production

Consumption

A LINEAR SOCIETY

Extraction

Production

Consumption

Waste

Advertising/TV

Extraction

Production

Consumption

Waste

Over-advertising produces Over-consumption

By the time a high school student leaves school, he or she will have watched over 350,000 TV commercials.
Paul Hawken The Ecology of Commerce.

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

Man

Modern Man!

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.

Holistic understanding
Versus Patriarchy in the form of rationalism

We are emotional and bodily beings as much as we are rational beings. Emotions are essential to being fully human and they offer us a critical window to the world. The body and the senses are essential to being fully human and they are necessary to realizing our connection with the world. A rationalist approach that cuts itself off from emotions and the body will be distorted. We need to affirm our emotional and bodily existence and integrate reason into that.

Contextual knowledge
Versus Patriarchys 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 by achieving 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 our relationships.

Pluralism
Versus Patriarchys view that there is only one true perspectiveours.

There is no single true perspective. That idea and 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).

Communitarianism
Versus Patriarchys atomistic individualism

People are essentially not individuals but selves in 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 in being autonomous and independent of others. These relationships mean that our identity is complex and multiple. The ideal is to realize our individuality -- as an integral part of the communities we live in.

Non-Materiality

Culturalise and Ethicalise Poverty and 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

The invention of the poor, is to exonerate the resourceful minority from the criminality of polluting the world and destroying it. In the name of eradication of poverty, the resourceful 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 from the rich

We need to re-vison our ways of wealth making and our relationship with wealth Economisation of life has to give to way to nonmaterialisation and collectivisation

Ethics of care
Versus Patriarchys 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 for them (as long as we are open to our connections). Ethics are developed not by rationally determining justice but by deepening our awareness of our interrelatedness and extending our natural caring.

Power-with
Versus Patriarchys drive to maintain power over others.

The urge for power-over comes from a desire for domination. It is top down and authoritarian. Power-with is an alternative, the power that comes from collaboration of fellow members of a community. 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.

Progress
Versus Patriarchys 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, are the basis for cultural health and richness. True progress comes from a multiplicity of individuals and cultures working in dialogue and cooperation. The ideal is to empower diverse individuals and cultures and engage them in cultural, political, and environmental processes.