gandhian alternative to global warming

7/30/2019 Gandhian Alternative to Global Warming

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Gandhian

Alternative toHeating the

Globe

R.KUMARAN



We are living on this

planet as if we hadanother one to go to



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



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!



…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 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.



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



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



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.



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



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



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”.



ECOCENTRISM

Water Cycle

Infiltration



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)



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.



TRUSTEESHIP



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.



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, 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.



For example:

Vandana Shiva



Worldviews and Ethical Perspectives

WORLD VIEWS AND ETHICAL

PERSPECTIVES : Summary



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 fightover-consumption



“The world has enough foreveryone‟s need

but not for everyone‟s 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



Extraction

A LINEAR SOCIETY



Extraction Production

A LINEAR SOCIETY



Extraction Production Consumption

A LINEAR SOCIETY



Extraction Production Consumption Waste

A LINEAR SOCIETY



Extraction Production Consumption Waste

Advertising/TV



Over-advertising

produces

Over-consumption



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.



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 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.



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.



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).



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.



Non-Materiality

Culturalise and Ethicalise Poverty



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



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



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



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.



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.



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.

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