Environment across Cultures

Description

Disparate perceptions and conceptual frameworks of environment and the relationship between humans and nature often lead to confusion, constraints on co-operation and collaboration and even conflict when society tries to deal with today’s urgent and complex environment research and policy challenges. Such disparities in perception and "world view" are driven by many factors. They include differences in culture, religion, ethical frameworks, scientific methodologies and approaches, disciplines, political, social and philosophical traditions, life styles and consumption patterns as well as alternative economic paradigms. Distribution of poverty or wealth between north and south may thus be seen as consequence of the above mentioned disparities, which is a challenge for it’s universal reasoned evaluation. This volume discusses a wide range of factors influencing "Environment across Cultures" with a view to identifying ways and means to better understand, reflect and manage such disparities within future global environmental research and policy agendas for bridging the gap between ecology and economy as well as between societies. The book is based upon the results of a scientific symposium on this topic and covers the following sections: Cross Cultural Perception of Environment; Ethics and Nature; Environment, Sustainability and Society. Corresponding contributions were made by well-known scientific authors representing different cultural spheres in accordance to the inter-cultural approach of this effort. Front Matter....Pages I-X Environment Across Cultures — an Introduction....Pages 1-10 Front Matter....Pages 11-11 The Ends of Nature....Pages 13-28 The Concept of Nature. Historical and Epistemological Aspects....Pages 29-35 Front Matter....Pages 37-37 Yes, Culture matters, but in what Way?....Pages 39-54 What Makes “Environmentalist” a Southern Pejorative? The Role and Influence of the Social Carriers of Technology....Pages 55-71 Front Matter....Pages 73-73 Ethics and Nature. A Contextual Approach....Pages 75-89 Ethics and Nature in the World’s Religions....Pages 91-109 Notions of Nature in Traditional Hinduism....Pages 111-121 A Preliminary Attempt to Give a Birdseye View on the Nature of Traditional Eastern (Asian) and Western (European) Environmental Ideas....Pages 123-142 Are there Universal Environmental Values?....Pages 143-151 Environmental Values and Comprehensive Environmental Assessment....Pages 153-172 Front Matter....Pages 173-173 Sustainability Discourses: Human Livelihoods and Life Chances....Pages 175-184 Beyond Sustainability: Indigenous Peoples’ Culture and Environment at Risk....Pages 185-196 The Concept of Sacred Linked to Biological Resource Management in the Himalayan Culture....Pages 197-204 Epilogue: Can there be Universal Principles of Circumspective Concern towards our Natural Environment?....Pages 205-211 Back Matter....Pages 213-217