Jainism and Ecology: Nonviolence in This Web of Life
Author(s): Christopher Chapple
The 2500-year-old tradition of Jainism, which emphasizes nonviolence as the only true path leading to liberation, offers a worldview seemingly compatible with the goals of environmental activism. But can Jainism adopt a sociocentric environmentalism without compromising its own ascetic principles and spiritual tradition? How does traditional Jain cosmology view the natural world? How might a Jain ethical system respond to decisions regarding the development of dams, the proliferation of automobiles, overcrowding due to overpopulation, or the protection of individual animal species? Can there be a Jain environmental activism that addresses both the traditional concern for individual self-purification and the contemporary dilemma of ecosystem degradation? The voices in this volume reflect the dynamic nature of the Jain faith and its willingness to engage in discussion on a modern social issue.
Product Information
General Fields
- :
- : Harvard University Press
- : Harvard University Press
- : 0.398
- : 01 September 2002
- : 229mm X 147mm X 16mm
- : United States
- : books
Special Fields
- : 292
- : 294.4178362
- : Paperback
- : Christopher Chapple