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Cosmophilia (Love of Other Living Beings) - Perhaps We Could Consider Him As An

The document discusses different ancient and historical perspectives on humanity's relationship with nature and the environment. It describes Pythagoras viewing the world as embodying nature's order and seeing our relationship with the universe as involving love of living things. It also discusses the Chinese view of the universe as a continuous whole governed by yin and yang. Finally, it shares a Native American prayer that asks the Great Spirit for wisdom, respect for nature, and strength to overcome one's inner weaknesses.

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1K views

Cosmophilia (Love of Other Living Beings) - Perhaps We Could Consider Him As An

The document discusses different ancient and historical perspectives on humanity's relationship with nature and the environment. It describes Pythagoras viewing the world as embodying nature's order and seeing our relationship with the universe as involving love of living things. It also discusses the Chinese view of the universe as a continuous whole governed by yin and yang. Finally, it shares a Native American prayer that asks the Great Spirit for wisdom, respect for nature, and strength to overcome one's inner weaknesses.

Uploaded by

Balnk Dhpr
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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We glimpse through openings left in their steamy, vaporous envelopes.

The
revolution of the stars, sun, and moon around the central earth is in reality the
rotation of the vapor-enveloped rings of fire.

Another ancient philosopher, Pythagoras described the world as living


embodiment of nature’s order, harmony, and beauty. He sees our relationship
with the universe involving with biophilia (love other living things) and
cosmophilia (love of other living beings). Perhaps we could consider him as an
ecologist.

The Chinese cosmic conception, on the other hand, is based on the


assumption that all that happens in the universe is a continuous whole like a
chain of natural consequences. All events in the universe follow a transitional
process due to the primeval pair, the yang and the yin. The universe does not
proceed onward but revolves without beginning or end. There is nothing new
under the sun; the “new” is a repetition of the old (Quito 1991). Human being’s
happiness lies in his conformity with nature or tao; the wise therefore, conforms
with tao and is happy.
Emanuel Kant

In his third critique, Critique of Judgment, Emanuel Kant expresses that


beauty is ultimately a symbol of morality (Kant 1997). According to kant, we must
ignore any practical motives or any inclinations that we have and instead
contemplate the object without being distracted by our desires (Goldblatt and
Brown 2010). For instance, one should not be tempted to plunge into the water in
a seascape portrait. In a sense, therefore, the stance that we take forward the
beautiful object is similar to that which we take toward human beings when we
are properly respectful of their dignity.

The beautiful encourage us to believe that nature and humanity are part of
an even bigger design. This sense of order in a beautiful object is not translatable
into a formula or a recipe. Rather, the concept of a larger design, the belief in an
ultimate goal on which every aspect of the sensible world has its place in a larger
purpose, draws our thoughts towards a supersensible reality. Ultimately, Kant
believes that the orderliness of nature and the harmony of nature with our
faculties guide us toward a deeper religious perspective. This vision of the world is
not limited to knowledge and freedom or even to faith, in the ordinary sense of
the term. It is a sense of cosmic harmony.
Understanding our relationship with the environment can also refer to the
human beings with ecology and nature. There can only change if we will change
our attitude towards our perception of the environment. Moreover, for Mead, as
human beings, we do not only have rights but duties. We are not only citizens of
the community but how we react to this community and in our reaction to it,
change it.

Consider this American Indian prayer (Gallagher 1996):

Oh, Great Spirit,


whose voice I hear in the winds
and whose breath gives life to all the world, hear me.
I am small and weak.
I need your strength and wisdom.

Let me walk in beauty and make my eyes


ever behold the red and purple sunset.
Make my hands respect the things you have made
and my ears sharp to hear your voice.
Make me wise so that I may understand
the things you have taught my people.
Let me learn the lessons you have hidden
in every leaf and rock.

I seek strength, not to be superior to my brother,


but to fight my greatest enemy - myself.
Make me always ready to come to you
with clean hands and straight eyes,
so when life fades, as the fading sunset,
my spirit will come to you
without shame.

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