Earth's Insights

Examining the ecological teachings embedded in both Western and non-Western world views, this work asks how the world's many and diverse environmental philosophies can be brought together in a complimentary and consistent whole. "A lucid, original, and useful work by a fine scholar already well known in the emerging field of environmental philosophy."—David Abram, University of Kansas The environmental crisis is global in scope, yet contemporary environmental ethics is centered predominantly in Western philosophy and religion. Earth's Insights widens the scope of environmental ethics to include the ecological teachings embedded in non-Western worldviews. J. Baird Callicott ranges broadly, exploring the sacred texts of Islam, Hinduism, Jainism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Zen Buddhism, as well as the oral traditions of Polynesia, North and South America, and Australia. He also documents the attempts of various peoples to put their environmental ethics into practice. Finally, he wrestles with a question of vital importance to all people sharing the fate of this small planet: How can the world's many and diverse environmental philosophies be brought together in a complementary and consistent whole?