Towards Anthropocentric Deep Ecology: Utilizing Esotericism within Ecophilosophy
-
Olli Petteri Pitkänen
Abstract
This article has a twofold aim. First it is shown, based on Joseph Christopher Greer’s earlier analysis, that there is a close historical, and to some extent substantial, affinity between deep ecology and esotericism. Greer’s findings will be corroborated by applying three different definitions of esotericism to the question at hand. Second, based on Sean McGrath’s ecophilosophy, it will be argued that utilizing esoteric influences systematically in deep ecological context can help deep ecology to avoid some problematic aspects it is often accused of. Especially the esoteric conception of living nature can help deep ecology to bridge the gulf between nature and the human being, and thereby to avoid both theoretical and practical anti-humanism.
Funding source: Alfred Kordelinin Säätiö
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Alfred Kordelin foundation for the funding of this study.
-
Research funding: This work was supported by Alfred Kordelinin Säätiö.
References
Bergunder, M. 2010. “What is Esotericism? Cultural Studies Approaches and the Problems of Definition in Religious Studies.” Method & Theory in the Study of Religion 22: 9–36. https://doi.org/10.1163/094330510x12604383550882.Search in Google Scholar
Bookchin, M. 1995. Re-Enchanting Humanity: A Defense of the Human Spirit Against Antihumanism, Misanthropy, Mysticism, and Primitivism. London: Cassell & Co.Search in Google Scholar
Devall, B., and G. Sessions. 1985. Deep Ecology: Living as if Nature Mattered. Layton: Gibbs Smith.Search in Google Scholar
Faivre, A. 1994. Access to Western Esotericism. USA: State University of New York Press.Search in Google Scholar
Greer, J. C. 2014. “Deep Ecology and the Study of Western Esotericism.” In Contemporary Esotericism, edited by E. Asprem, and K. Granholm, 287–308. London: Routledge.Search in Google Scholar
Hanegraaff, W. 2013. Esotericism and the Academy: Rejected Knowledge in Western Culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9781139048064Search in Google Scholar
Katz, E., Light, A., and Rothenberg, D., eds. 2000. Beneath the Surface: Critical Essays in the Philosophy of Deep Ecology. Cambridge: MIT Press.Search in Google Scholar
Magee, G. A., ed. 2016. The Cambridge Handbook of Western Mysticism and Esotericism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9781139027649Search in Google Scholar
McGrath, S. 2012. The Dark Ground of Spirit – Schelling and the Unconscious. Cornwall: Routledge.10.4324/9780203134399Search in Google Scholar
McGrath, S. 2019. Thinking Nature: An Essay in Negative Ecology. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.10.1515/9781474449281Search in Google Scholar
Næss, A. 2003. “The Deep Ecological Movement: Some Philosophical Aspects.” In Environmental Ethics: An Anthology, edited by L. Andrew, and H. RolstonIII, 262–74. Malden: Blackwell.10.5840/philinquiry198681/22Search in Google Scholar
Næss, A. 2005. The Selected Works of Arne Naess: Deep Ecology of Wisdom, Vol. X. Dordrecht: Springer.Search in Google Scholar
Partridge, C. 2005. The Re-Enchantment of the West, Vol. 2. London: T & T Clark International.Search in Google Scholar
Taylor, B. 2010. Dark Green Religion: Nature Spirituality and the Planetary Future. USA: University of California Press.10.1525/9780520944459Search in Google Scholar
Von Stuckrad, K. 2005a. Western Esotericism: A Brief History of Secret Knowledge. Oakville & London: Equinox Publishing.10.4324/9781315084121Search in Google Scholar
Von Stuckrad, K. 2005b. “Western Esotericism: Towards an Integrative Model of Interpretation.” Religion 35 (2): 78–97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.religion.2005.07.002.Search in Google Scholar
© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Articles
- Environmental Ethics–Sats Special Issue
- The Appeal of Environmental Master Metrics
- Moomins and Complicity with Matter: Tove Jansson’s Moominpappa at Sea as an Intervention in Vibrant Matter: A Political Ecology of Things by Jane Bennett
- Weird Environmental Ethics: The Virtue of Wonder and the Rise of Eco-Anxiety
- Who Should Have Children? (Us?) When Should We Have Children? (Now?)
- Justificatory Moral Pluralism in Climate Change
- Concepts of Biodiversity, Pluralism, and Pragmatism: The Case of Walnut Forest Conservation in Central Asia
- Towards Anthropocentric Deep Ecology: Utilizing Esotericism within Ecophilosophy
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Articles
- Environmental Ethics–Sats Special Issue
- The Appeal of Environmental Master Metrics
- Moomins and Complicity with Matter: Tove Jansson’s Moominpappa at Sea as an Intervention in Vibrant Matter: A Political Ecology of Things by Jane Bennett
- Weird Environmental Ethics: The Virtue of Wonder and the Rise of Eco-Anxiety
- Who Should Have Children? (Us?) When Should We Have Children? (Now?)
- Justificatory Moral Pluralism in Climate Change
- Concepts of Biodiversity, Pluralism, and Pragmatism: The Case of Walnut Forest Conservation in Central Asia
- Towards Anthropocentric Deep Ecology: Utilizing Esotericism within Ecophilosophy
