The future of ethics : sustainability, social justice, and religious creativity / Willis Jenkins.

ISBN:

9781626160187

Title:

Author:

Jenkins, Willis.

Personal Author:

Jenkins, Willis.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (viii, 340 pages)

Contents:

Ethics in the anthropocene -- Atmospheric powers: climate change and moral incompetence -- Christian ethics and unprecedented problems -- Global ethics: moral pluralism and planetary problems -- Sustainability science and the ethics of wicked problems -- Toxic wombs and the ecology of justice -- Impoverishment and the economy of desire -- Intergenerational risk and the future of love -- Sustaining grace.

Local Note:

eBooks on EBSCOhost

Subject Term:

Christian ethics.

Religious ethics.

Human ecology -- Religious aspects -- Christianity.

Human ecology -- Religious aspects.

Christianity and justice.

Religion and justice.

Format:

Electronic Resources

Electronic Access:

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Publication Date:

2013

Publication Information:

Washington, D.C. :

Georgetown University Press,

2013.

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Shelf Number	Material Type	Copy	Shelf Location	Status
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Summary

The Future of Ethics interprets the big questions of sustainability and social justice through the practical problems arising from humanity's increasing power over basic systems of life. What does climate change mean for our obligations to future generations? How can the sciences work with pluralist cultures in ways that will help societies learn from ecological change?

Traditional religious ethics examines texts and traditions and highlights principles and virtuous behaviors that can apply to particular issues. Willis Jenkins develops lines of practical inquiry through "prophetic pragmatism," an approach to ethics that begins with concrete problems and adapts to changing circumstances. This brand of pragmatism takes its cues from liberationist theology, with its emphasis on how individuals and communities actually cope with overwhelming problems.

Can religious communities make a difference when dealing with these issues? By integrating environmental sciences and theological ethics into problem-based engagements with philosophy, economics, and other disciplines, Jenkins illustrates the wide understanding and moral creativity needed to live well in the new conditions of human power. He shows the significance of religious thought to the development of interdisciplinary responses to sustainability issues and how this calls for a new style of religious ethics.

Author Notes

Willis Jenkins is associate professor of religious studies, University of Virginia. He is the author of Ecologies of Grace: Environmental Ethics and Christian Theology , which won the 2009 Templeton Prize for Theological Promise.

Reviews (1)

Choice Review

Jenkins (Univ. of Virginia) previously wrote a book on religion and the environment titled Ecologies of Grace (CH, Oct'08, 46-0827). In this innovative new volume he begins with the idea of moral incompetence--a notion that the massive and multifactorial nature of environmental problems challenges normal ways of acting and thinking as ethical approaches to working for change. Jenkins provides numerous examples of religious communities working to foster environmental justice and sustainability across the globe, despite the huge scale of environmental problems. He argues convincingly that environmental issues relate to political power; the politically powerful often make the economic and regulatory decisions that shape the environmental climate, both locally and more broadly. Jenkins's final turn is toward explicitly Christian theological resources and how Christian communities can use their resources in the face of environmental problems. This book's strength is its scope, which encompasses theology, international human rights law, and innovative approaches to ethical thinking about problems that cross cultural and religious boundaries. Students of Christian ethics--especially those concerned with the links between religion and environmental advocacy/action--will find this extraordinary book very worthwhile. --Aaron Wesley Klink, Duke University

Preface

Introduction: Ethics in the Anthropocene

1 Atmospheric Powers: Climate Change and Moral Incompetence

2 Christian Ethics and Unprecedented Problems

3 Global Ethics: Moral Pluralism and Planetary Problems

4 Sustainability Science and the Ethics of Wicked Problems

5 Toxic Wombs and the Ecology of Justice

6 Impoverishment and the Economy of Desire

7 Intergenerational Risk and the Future of Love

Afterword: Sustaining Grace

Index

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Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (1)

Choice Review

Table of Contents