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.
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.
Preface
Acknowledgements
Chapter One: The Cosmic Common Good as a Ground for Interreligious
Ecological Ethics
Part I: A Catholic Cosmic Common Good
Chapter Two: A Catholic Cosmic Common Good: Overview and
Prospects
Chapter Three: Classical Sources for a Catholic Cosmic Common Good:
Augustine and Thomas Aquinas
Chapter Four: Thomas Berry and an Evolutionary Catholic Cosmic
Common Good
Chapter Five: Earth Solidarity
Chapter Six: Earth Rights
Part II: The Cosmic Common Good and Interreligious Ecological
Ethics
Chapter Seven: Comparative Theology and Ecological Ethics
Chapter Eight: Hindu Traditions: Dharmic Ecology
Chapter Nine: Buddhist Traditions: Interdependence
Chapter Ten: American Indian Traditions: Balance with All Our
Relations
Conclusion: An Interreligious Cosmic Common Good
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Daniel P. Scheid is Assistant Professor of Theology at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
"This volume will be a valuable addition to the undergarduate,
graduate, and seminary courses in ecological ethics, potentially
opening the way towards more robust interreligious converstion
about ecological concerns and providing the necessary
methodological tools." -- Margaret R. Pfeil , Journal of Catholic
Social Thought
"Scheid creates an innovative amalgam of ancient and modem
theological insights and is to be lauded for attempting to overcome
some of the inherent difficulties of hammering out a common
interreligious ecological ethic by proposing a theoretical
framework for a worldview that is centered on the cosmic common
good. This kind of unity is precisely what the world needs if
humanity is going to overcome the ecological crisis that threatens
its existence."--Jeremiah
Vallery, Religious Studies Review
"Given the suffering caused by ecological degradation to humans and
other creatures alike, theology is tasked in our day to bring the
natural world back into view as a subject of religious and moral
importance. In this broadly researched and clearly written book,
Scheid sets out to do just that with one keystone element of
Catholic social teaching: the common good. Not only does he rethink
features of this principle, expanding it in an ecological
direction, but
he places this principle in dialogue with Hindu, Buddhist, and
American Indian traditions. The point of arrival is an
interreligious vision of the cosmic common good which can serve as
a basis for
ethical action to protect the planet, or 'to care for God's
creation' in Catholic language Toward that end this book makes a
superb contribution."--Elizabeth A. Johnson, Theological
Studies
"In arguing for an ethical vision of humanity s place in nature in
the broadest of terms, this sophisticated book with its judicious
comparative analysis itself helps foster the common good....Highly
recommended."--CHOICE
"This volume could not be more timely. Just when Pope Francis
issues the momentous encyclical, Laudato Si: On the Care of our
Common Home, Scheid gives us the most complete account of its norm,
the common good, that exists. His is also one of the most creative,
expanding a traditionally human-centered norm so as to make the
case for Earth rights and a 'cosmic' common good. For religion,
ethics, and ecology, Scheid's is a major contribution." --Larry
Rasmussen, author of Earth-honoring Faith: Religious Ethics in a
New Key
"The Cosmic Common Good is one of the finest books to emerge in
ecological ethics in recent years. Well-written and carefully
argued, it opens up important new grounds for Catholic social
teaching and comparative religious ethics. By highlighting a
cosmocentric perspective it expands the fields of religion and
ecology and ecological ethics for years to come." --Mary Evelyn
Tucker and John Grim, Directors, Forum on Religion and Ecology at
Yale
University
"This visionary and carefully crafted work takes the theological
grounds of ecological responsibility to a new level. Though most
scholars recognize that interreligious cooperation is essential if
humans are to resolve urgent global challenges, few are equipped to
offer specific and tradition-spanning theoretical grounds to anchor
activism and hope. It is no exaggeration to say that this book is
essential reading at the cutting edge of Christian ecological
ethics." --Lisa Sowle Cahill, author of Global Justice, Christology
and Christian Ethics
"Theoretical and practical, Daniel P. Scheid s The Cosmic Common
Good is an important contribution to ecological ethics."--Religious
Studies Review
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