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Impact of religion in human society
Effect of religion in society
Impact of religion in human society
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In “Green Guilt,” Stephen Asma argues that people who “feel passionate about saving the planet justify their intense feelings by pointing to the seriousness of the problem…,” but there are feelings of guilt and indignation that make people the necessity to “go green” (25). Asma substantiates his arguments on Friedrich Nietzsche who recognizes that religious emotions, “like guilt and indignation, are still with us, even we’re not religious.”(26). From this last point, Asma explains that environmentalism has emerged as a substitute for religion. Even though people do not believe in God, they need to believe in a “pristine environment”(27). At the end of his essay, Asma points out that people need to save the planet but in a reasonable way. In his overall essay, Asma describes with substantiate and convincing information how …show more content…
Nietzsche explains that people need an ideal God in order to have feelings of guilty and indignation. However, people who do not believe in God have seen in the environmentalism a replacement of religion. According to Asma, “We need a belief in a pristine environment because we need to be cruel to ourselves as inferior beings…” (27). With this statement, Asma explains that environmentalism wants to be the same as a catholic or christian religion, and it wants to control people in the same way that religion does. When I watch on TV or listen to the radio news, I recognize that people need to take care about the environment because global warming is ending with our planet. However, the people who tell us the news use extreme arguments that make people to be afraid of the future or crazy. For example, two weeks ago, I watched on the TV news that a man got married with a tree! I did not really understand why this man decided to do this, but did the feelings of guilty and indignation make the man to get married with a tree? What does really want the
Carcasses attract scavengers. The Guilty Party by O. Henry showcases the untimely death of a girl of twelve, Liz. Above Chrystie Street on the east side, a strange bird stalks the children of the playground. Although people say it’s a stork, locals call it a vulture. In this case, Liz is the carcass that the vulture sets its eyes on.
In the journal of Environmentalism as Religion, Paul H. Rubin discuss about how environmental is similar to religion. Rubin want everyone to know that the environment and religion are somehow similar in a way, which they both have belief system, creation stories and original sin.
In Michael Pollan’s “Why Bother?” Pollan argues that each person can contribute to helping to the environment by erasing their carbon footprints. In my everyday life I experience the choice of driving my car to work or riding my bike. More often than not I choose to drive my car because it is the easier option. I, along with many other people, believe that my individual impact will not cause a larger impact on the global scale. In Pollan’s essay, he makes each person think about the effect they are leaving on the environment and how each person, as an individual, can change his ways before it is too late. Wendell Berry, a naturalist and well-respected and influential writer, was a key factor in recognition of the environmental crisis and how to solve the problem.
Arthur Dimmesdale is a fictional character written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in the 1850’s from the book, “The Scarlet Letter.” Arthur Dimmesdale went through great lengths of guilt and suffering throughout the book. He is a Puritan minister who had a child named Pearl, whose mother was Hester Prynne. They hide their relationship together in the years of Pearl growing up. Arthur Dimmesdale was the only Puritan out of four main characters in The Scarlet Letter. Dimmesdale knows that he has sinned in the very beginning of the novel, but kept all his feelings inside, letting the guilt overwhelm him until the end. When he committed adultery, he knew that what he did was wrong, but at the time he had only put
This quotation opens your eyes, I know of no one who wants to destroy the earth either. The majority of man kind doesn’t think too much about what is happening to the earth due to their actions. When most of us drive a car or spray deodorant we don’t think of the consequences. It is the responsibility of those who create problems to help fix them and prevent them from happening again. In society today it i...
Bill McKibben's "The Environmental Issue from Hell" argues that climate change is a real and dire concern for humanity. His essay deals with the methods and persuasive arguments needed to spur American citizens and the government on to change to more eco-friendly choices. The arguments he proposes are based largely upon emotional appeals calling for empathy and shame, and examples of what in our daily lives is adding to the changes we're seeing in the climate.
In 1989, seventy five percent of Americans identified themselves as environmentalists, and the number has continued to grow since then (Walls 1). Environmentalism is now the most popular social movement in the United States, with over five million American families donating regularly to environmental organizations (Walls 1). Environmentalists today focus on what kind of world they hope to see in the future, and largely deal with limiting pollution and changing consumption rates (Kent 1 and 9). Modern environmentalists also have much different issues than those Carson’s America faced. With climate change becoming more threatening each year, protection of the natural world is needed more than ever. Pollution has caused the warmest decade in history, the deterioration of the ozone layer, and species extinction in extreme numbers (Hunter 2). It not only threatens nature, but also human populations, who already suffer from lack of clean water and poisoning from toxic chemicals (Hunter 16). Unlike environmental actions in the 1960’s, which were mostly focused on protection, a massive increase in pollution has caused efforts to be focused on environmental restoration (Hunter 16). Like in the time of Silent Spring, environmentalists are not only concerned with one country. Protecting the environment remains a global issue, and every nation is threatened by the
An environmentalist is a person who worships the environment and cares for nature more than people. Christians and others share the common perception that environmental ethics exist for how human beings should relate to the land, the free market, and the environmental. Humans share a relationship with all creations of the earth. But as humans, they find themselves as having a role in the created order, which is they have a closer relationship with the creator who has charged them with acting responsible within his creation. Even allowing a common complaint of environmental activists is that Stewardship means that the earth was made exclusively because of human beings - that having dominion over nature is the same as having the power and authority of dominion.
The majority of this piece is dedicated to the author stating his opinion in regards to civilization expanding beyond its sustainable limits. The author makes it clear that he believes that humans have failed the natural environment and are in the process of eliminating all traces of wilderness from the planet. Nash points out facts that strengthen his argument, and quotes famous theologians on their similar views on environmental issues and policies. The combination of these facts and quotes validates the author’s opinion.
He compares moral annoyance on to an “apocalyptic fear-mongering that previously took the shape of repent or burn in hell, but now it is recycle or burn in the ozone hole” (27). Asma uses metaphors to mock the comparison between religion versus environmentalism. His article advocates for an ideology that is not as dominated by these feelings of guilt and believes that we should “lighten our fervor to more reasonable levels.” Asma’s comparison to religious extremities and environmentalism creates diction among what the audience may value or not agree with. By pursuing such controversy, Asma’s points of view allow the audience to take thought on the parallels between their aggression and self-reflection, as well as the green marketing ploys made to persuade the members of the modern society. Throughout Asma’s argument, he frequently uses a diction to lead to the humorous tone of his submissive counterargument. He mentions that we may not be able to punch the people we want to punch in real life, so we turn our aggression to the retrobates of TV land. Comparing a “joyful hatred” to such TV shows may justify the defense of our own “virtue and orthodoxy”. The diction created by the specific word choice allows the diction to affect the overall tone of the article -- satirical with a slight serious approach. If he were to use different words, it would be less effective. His metaphorical explanation also appeals to pathos because it represents another set of emotional feelings the audience feels. By mentioning the common appeal to modernized television, Asma enables the audience to connect on a personal level to a controversy that is not related to environmentalism, but is similar in a way that it makes everyone feeling guilty all feel the
The world is categorized into many ecospheres, among all, water and land. Upon further analysis, it is evident that both nature and humanity are interdependent. However, our anthropocentric views on the world have led to a golden age of mass production, accelerating beyond natures ability to regenerate itself. In the late 1950s nature was not seen as an item of importance, during the time civilization was captured by the topic of civil rights for the human being, rather than the detrimental natural surroundings. Often times, society does not utilize all the resources provided by the environment and can fall into the mindset of hurting the environment without knowing the full consequences. In Silent Spring, Rachel Carson exposes the hidden
Analyzing human obligation pertaining to all that is not man made, apart from humans, we discover an assortment of concerns, some of which have been voiced by philosophers such as Tom Regan, Peter Singer and Aldo Leopold. Environmentally ethical ideals hold a broad spectrum of perspectives that, not only attempt to identify a problem, but also focus on how that problem is addressed through determining what is right and wrong.
One of the major points that Kaplan makes and he focuses on heavily in the beginning of the article is how environmental scarcity plays an impact on people’s decisions. There is a finite amount of natural resources in the world for people to use, and we are fast approaching a point where the world can no longer support our growing population. All of this is spurred on by an increase in practices that cause deforestation, soil erosion, pollution and global warming. A great analogy within the article is that we are robbing from tomorrow’s future to support the present, which is shown in that “…man is challenging nature far beyond its limits, and nature is now beginning to take its revenge.” (Kaplan, 1994) The new major threat that every nation and person has to be aware of is how the immediate results of our mismanagement of the environment can have a tremendous backlash, not only within our lives but the lives of future generations. All of these environmental concerns are dots that connect with Kaplan’s other main arguments.
The most obvious reason that the environment has moral significance is that damage to it affects humans. Supporters of a completely human-centered ethic claim that we should be concerned for the environment only as far as our actions would have a negative effect on other people. Nature has no intrinsic value; it is not good and desirable apart from its interaction with human beings. Destruction and pollution of the environment cannot be wrong unless it results in harm to other humans. This view has its roots in Western tradition, which declares that “human beings are the only morally important members of this world” (Singer p.268).
Anthropocentrism is the school of thought that human beings are the single most significant entity in the universe. As a result, the philosophies of those with this belief reflect the prioritization of human objectives over the well-being of one’s environment. However, this is not to say that anthropocentric views neglect to recognize the importance of preserving the Earth. In fact, it is often in the best interests of humans to make concerted efforts towards sustaining the environment. Even from a purely anthropocentric point of view, there are three main reasons why mankind has a moral duty to protect the natural world.