Spring
Professors: Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim
Office: Kroon Hall, 195 Prospect, Rms 140, 115 – Office hours Tues 1 to 2:30
Website: https://fore.yale.edu/
Time: Tuesday 2:30-5:20 p.m.
Classroom Location: ISPS at 77 Prospect St., Room A002
Course Description:
Religion and ecology is a new field of study that involves the investigation of humans and communities within the horizon of interdependent life. In particular it investigates the symbolic expressions of this interconnection in diverse religious symbols and practices arising from human-Earth relations.
At present the rapid modernization of Asia- especially India and China- is causing extreme environmental problems. This course will investigate Asian religions in relation to this ecological crisis. Both the problems and promise of religions are acknowledged. Religions are now widely seen as significant social, intellectual, and spiritual forces that both shape and are shaped by cultural worldviews. Moreover, religions are containers of symbolic language that often evoke nature’s processes and reflect nature’s rhythms. The multiform roles of religions, then, provide historical sources for reflection upon human behavior guided by values embedded in individual and social bodies, projected onto ecosystems, and molded into cosmological narratives.
For many years science, engineering, policy, law, and economics alone were considered indispensable for understanding and resolving environmental problems. We now have abundant knowledge from these disciplines about environmental issues, but still not sufficient will to change human behavior. Thus, there is a growing realization that religion, spirituality, ethics, and values can make important contributions to address complex environmental issues. This course will explore those contributions.
This course will examine the various ways in which religious ideas and practices have contributed to cultural attitudes and human interactions with nature. Examples will be selected from Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism. The course will examine such topics as: symbols, images and metaphors of nature in canonical texts, views of the divine as transcendent to the world, the indwelling of the sacred in the Earth, the ethics of using and valuing nature, ritual practices that link humans to the natural world, and cosmology as orienting humans to the world and embedding them in place.
Required Texts
Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim (eds,), Religion and Ecology: Can the Climate Change? Daedalus (Fall 2001).
Mary Evelyn Tucker, Worldly Wonder: Religions Enter Their Ecological Phase (Open Court, 2003) This book is online at classesV2 under “Resources”
Christopher Chapple and Mary Evelyn Tucker, eds., Hinduism and Ecology: The Intersection of Earth, Sky, and Water (Harvard University Press, 2000)
Mary Evelyn Tucker and Duncan Williams, eds., Buddhism and Ecology: The Intersection of Dharma and Deeds (Harvard University Press, 1998)
Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Berthrong, eds., Confucianism and Ecology: The Interrelation of Heaven, Earth, and Humans (Harvard University Press, 1998)
Chapters from this book will be online at classesV2
N.J.Giraradot, James Miller, and Liu Xiaogan, eds., Daoism and Ecology: Ways Within a Cosmic Landscape (Harvard University Press, 2001)
Suggested Primary Texts
Ainslie Embree, ed., Sources of Indian Tradition (Columbia, 1988)
Wm. Theodore deBary, ed. The Buddhist Tradition in India, China, and Japan (Random House, 1969)
Wm. Theodore deBary, ed. Sources of Chinese Tradition (Columbia University Press, 2003)
Wing-tsit Chan, trans., Source Book of Chinese Philosophy (Princeton, 1963)
Suggested Secondary Texts
*Mary Pat Fisher, Living Religions (5th edition,) (L.B.Taurus & Co, 1997)
Lance Nelson, ed., Purifying the Earthly Body of God: Religion and Ecology in Hindu India (SUNY, 1998)
Ken Kraft and Stephanie Kaza, eds., Dharma Rain (Shambala, 2000)
Stephanie Kaza, ed., Hooked: Buddhist Writings on Greed, Desire, and the Urge to Consume (Shambala, 2005)
Xinzhong Yao, An Introduction to Confucianism (Cambridge University, 2000)
Tu Weiming and Mary Evelyn Tucker, eds., Confucian Spirituality
2 vols. (Crossroads, 2003-2004)
James Miller, Daoism: A Short Introduction (Oxford, 2003)
Course Requirements
1. regular attendance, readings, and participation in class discussion: 10%
2. brief (1pg) response to focused questions – 2 or 3 over semester: 10%
3. mid-term take-home essay exam due February 28th or paper: 40%
4. final take-home essay, or paper exam due Friday of exam week: 40%
Course Exams
There will be a Mid-term exam and a Final exam in this course. Each exam will be a Take-Home and a week is given for completion. Undergraduates will have three essay questions; graduates will have four essay questions. There will be a choice of questions.
Schedule of Classes and Readings – Readings marked PDF are online at classesV2
JANUARY The Emerging Field of Religion and Ecology
Introduction: Dimensions of religion; tradition and modernity
Perspectives on valuing the environment
The problems and promise of religion
Readings:
Yale website: https://www.yale.edu/religionandecology
Read introductory articles on FORE web site for Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism. Look at bibliographies and sacred texts.
JANUARY The Challenge of the Environmental Crisis to the Religions – Overview
Readings:
ME Tucker and John Grim,”Series Forward” from any Harvard volume in world religions and ecology series
ME Tucker and John Grim, “Introduction,” in Daedalus Fall 2001
https://www.amacad.org/publications/fall2001/fall2001.aspx
Tu Weiming, “Beyond the Enlightenment Mentality,” PDF
Lynn White, Jr., “The Historic Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis.” PDF
Questions for consideration:
1. Why have religions been late in coming to environmental issues?
2. In what ways have religions changed in response to modern challenges?
3. Can religions raise effective moral questions regarding a range of issues such as global warming and species extinction?
4. According to Tu Weiming what characterizes the “Enlightenment Mentality,” and which traits are less and more helpful for our way forward?
5. Do you agree with Lynn White’s argument?
Intersecting disciplines
Readings:: in Daedalus Fall 2001
https://www.amacad.org/publications/fall2001/fall2001.aspx
Michael McElroy, “Perspectives on Environmental Change,” pp. 31-56;
Donald Brown, “The Ethical Dimensions of Global Environmental issues,” pp. 59-76;
Baird Callicott, “Multicultural Environmental Ethics,” pp. 77-96
Look at dialogue sections on Science, Economics, Education, and Policy
Questions for consideration:
6. What are the challenges to religions being in dialogue with other disciplines?
7. Can there be an ethics that addresses climate change?
8. What prevents the human community from formulating a multicultural environmental ethics? Is a global ethics necessary for human flourishing?
JANUARY The Transformative Context of Religions
Readings:
ME Tucker, Worldly Wonder, pp. 1-54
Questions for consideration:
1. What does “the cosmological context” have to do with religion and ecology?
2. In what ways can religions reclaim and reconstruct themselves in response to the environmental crisis?
3. Is the restoration of wonder in the modern world of disenchantment possible?
Commentary by Judith Berling and Response – Readings:
ME Tucker, Worldly Wonder, pp. 57-147
Questions for consideration:
4. With which points made by Berling and the audience do you agree or disagree?
5. What would be your question to Tucker?
6. Which of the appendices had the greatest appeal for you and why?
Note especially the Earth Charter. See also www.earthcharter.org
Brief Introduction to Hinduism – Look at “Indian Chronology” PDF and “Intro to Hinduism,” PDF [bring both of these to next class also]
JANUARY Hindu Concepts of Nature
Early Hinduism – Readings:
Hinduism and Ecology “Introduction” xxxiii- xlviii; “Hinduism an Overview chapter” PDF; Articles by Rao and Patton 23-58; Vedic readings PDF; Brhad and Isha Upanishads PDF
Questions for consideration:
1. What particular characteristics do Gadgil and Guha present as necessary for
understanding India’s response to its environmental crisis?
2. What is one traditional Hindu concept of nature in India and how does it relate to the
environmental concern of a particular group or region?
3. What is Patton’s critique of nature romanticism and India?
The debate of Dharma (Duty) and Bhakti (Devotion) – Readings:
Hinduism and Ecology – Articles by Nelson and Agarwal pp. 127-179; “Gita ex Mahabharata PDF; Bhagavad Gita PDF; Gita Govinda PDF
Questions for consideration:
4. What is the problem of detachment for environmental action?
5. What are some of Agarwal’s reservations about Hinduism and ecology?
FEBRUARY Environmental Activism in India
Rivers, pilgrimages, and dams – Readings:
Hinduism and Ecology – Articles by Alley, Deegan, and Fisher pp. 355-421;
Purana I & II PDF
Questions for consideration:
1. Why are “sacred rivers” in India a barometer for actual environmental concern on the
part of religious adherents?
2. Describe the ways in which a particular pilgrimage or ritual in Hinduism is related or
adapted to environmental action?
3. What are the tradeoffs with dams in terms of modernization processes?
Non-violent activism – Readings:
Hinduism and Ecology – Article by James pp. 499-530
Questions for consideration:
4. What religious ideas and practices motivated the Chipko resistance?
Brief Introduction to Buddhism – Look at “Intro Buddhism,” PDF
FEBRUARY Theoretical and Methodological Issues in Buddhism
Buddhist perspectives on nature – Readings:
Buddhism and Ecology “Introduction” xxxv-xlii; Article by Lancaster pp. 3-18;
“Buddhism Overview chapter part 1” PDF; ; Dhamapada PDF
Questions for consideration:
1. What does Lancaster mean by the “collective perception of nature” and how does this relate to Chinese Buddhism?
2. Can we accurately attribute harmonious attitudes to nature in Buddhism?
A critique – Readings:
Buddhism and Ecology – Articles by Eckel pp. 327-349; Sponberg pp. 351-376
Questions for consideration:
3. How does “Green Buddhism” relate to “basic Buddhism”?
4. Does hierarchy serve a role in environmental values?
FEBRUARY Theravada and Mahayana Views of Nature
Theravada (Hinayana or Southern) Buddhism – Readings:
“Buddhism Overview Chapter part 2” PDF; Buddhism and Ecology – Articles by Swearer and Sponsel pp. 21-68;
Questions for consideration:
1. What particular Theravada Buddhist concepts foster environmental action?
2. What role(s) have the Theravada monks played in creating a Buddhist
environmental ethics?
Mid-Term Exam given out due end of Feb
Mahayana (or Northern) Buddhism – Readings:
Buddhism and Ecology – Articles by Habito and Lori pp. 165-184;
Mahayana Buddhism PDF
Questions for consideration:
3. What particular Mahayana Buddhist concepts foster environmental action?
4. In what ways does Zen mindfulness engage ecological concern?
5. Can Buddhist precepts be the basis of an environmental ethics?
FEBRUARY American Buddhism
American Zen Buddhism – Readings:
Buddhism and Ecology – Articles by Barnhill and Kaza pp. 187-248
Questions for consideration:
1. What does Gary Snyder intend by the phrase “Great Earth Sangha?”
2. What kinds of environmental activity are taking place in American
Buddhist Zen centers?
Applications of Buddhist Worldviews – Readings:
Buddhism and Ecology – Articles by Gross and Rockefeller pp. 291-324
Questions for consideration:
4. In what ways does engaged Buddhism respond to issues of energy, over-population,
consumption and global ethics?
Brief Introduction to Confucianism – Look at “Intro to Confucianism and Daoism” PDF [bring to next class]
Mid-Term Exam due [Spring Break March]
MARCH Classical Confucian and Neo-Confucian Thought
Early Confucianism – Readings: “Koller on Confucianism” PDF
Confucianism and Ecology – “Introduction” pp. xxxv-xlv;
Articles by Tu Weiming and Wm. Theo. de Bary pp. 3-34; Analects I PDF
Questions for consideration:
1. In what ways do Tu Weiming and Wm. Theo. de Bary agree and disagree?
Context for Response – Readings:
Confucianism and Ecology – Articles by Taylor and Ivanhoe pp. 37-76
Questions for consideration:
2. How does Taylor answer the question “Can the East help the West to value nature?”
3. How does Ivanhoe address the problem of anthropocentrism?
MARCH Conceptual Resources from China, Korea, and Japan
China – Readings:
Confucianism and Ecology – Article by Tu Weiming pp. 105-121; Analects II PDF
Questions for consideration:
1. How is the “continuity of being” in Confucianism a resource for environmental ethics?
2. In what ways does cosmology and self-cultivation in Confucianism relate to
environmental concern?
3. What does correlation mean in Confucian thought?
Korea and Japan – Readings:
Confucianism and Ecology – Articles by Ro and Tucker pp. 169-207
Questions for consideration:
4. Distinguish the ecological implications of the philosophy of ch’i in Korea and Japan. 5. Are there any problems with a monism of ch’i?
APRIL Contemporary Confucianism
Philosophy – Readings:
Confucianism and Ecology – Article by Berthrong pp. 237-263; Mencius PDF
Questions for consideration:
1. How does cosmology, ecology, and ethics relate to the formation of personhood in
Confucianism?
2. Of the 8 elements for a new Confucian ecological vision choose one and relate it to your own ecological understanding.
Practice – Readings:
Confucianism and Ecology – Article by Weller and Bol pp. 313-341
Questions for consideration:
3. In what ways can Confucian perspectives influence policy in Taiwan?
Brief Introduction to Daoism
APRIL Ecological Readings of Daoist Texts
Introduction – Readings:
Daoism and Ecology – “Introduction” pp. xxxvii-lxiv; Dao De Ching PDF;
“Daoism Overview chapter” PDF; Article by Kleeman pp. 61-69
Questions for consideration:
1. Has Daoism been over-idealized as promoting harmonious relations between humans and the earth?
2. What images of nature in Daoism are pertinent to contemporary ecological thought and why?
Cultural context – Readings:
Daoism and Ecology – Chuang tzu PDF Articles by Anderson and Field pp. 157-200;
“Sectional discussion” pp. 237-241
Questions for consideration:
3. How do folk practices relate to Daoism and ecology?
4. How does fengshui orient human interaction with the environment?
APRIL Philosophical and Practical Ecological Concerns in Daoism
Wu wei debates (non-purposeful action) – Readings:
Daoism and Ecology – Article by Kirkland pp. 283-304; Article by Liu pp. 315-339;
“Sectional discussion” pp. 341-347
Questions for consideration:
1. Can “non-action” (wu-wei) be the basis for an environmental ethic?
Contemporary Daoism – Readings:
Daoism and Ecology – Articles by Miller, Zhang, and Kohn pp. 351-390
Questions for consideration:
2. How does inner transformation of the person relate to transformations in nature?
3. What types of Daoist practices promote environmental awareness?
Final take home essay exam handed out –
Due by Friday of exam week in May