Environmental Ethics : Louis P.

Pojman
Chapter 1
Westerm Philisophy of Nature: The Roots of Our Ecological Situation

Quote
"In the beginning God created the heavens and earth. Now the earth was a formless void, there
was the darkness over thee deep, and Gods spirit hovered over the water."

What I expect to learn :

I expect to learn how Human ecology is deeply conditioned by beliefs about our nature and
destiny.

Review

At the time when Yahweh God made earth and heaven there was as yet no wild bush on the
earth nor had any wild plant yet sprung up, for Yahweh God had not sent rain on the earth, nor
was there any man to till the soil. One thing is so certain that it seems stupid to vebalize it. Both
modern technology and modern science are distinctively Occidental. Our technology has
absorbed elements from all over the world, notably from China; yet everywhere today, whether in
Japan or in Nigeria, succesfull technology is Western. Our science is the heir to all the sciences
to the past, especially perhaps to the work of great Islamic scientists of the middle ages, who so
often outdid the ancient Greeks in skill and perspicacity: al-Razi in medicine, for example or ibyn-
al-haytham in optics; or Omar Khayyam in mathematics. Indeed not a few work of genuises
seem to have vanished in the original Arabic and to survive only in medieval Latin translations
that helped to layout the foundations for later Western developments. Today, around the globe,
all significant science is Western in style and in method, whatever the pigmentation or language
of the scientist.

Until recently, agriculture has been the chief occupation even in advanced societies; hence, any
change in methods of tillage has much importance. Early plows, drawn by two oxen, did not
normally turn sod but merely scratched it. Cross plowing we needed in fields tended to be
squarish. In fairly light soild and semi-arid climates of the near East and Mediterranean. It has
said that we should have always have the power to save our natural ressources that God has
given to us, we only have one chance but we people can't helped to abuse the power of jealousy.

What did I learned:

I learned the importance of resources. And the Christianity tell people about their relations with
the environment.

Integrative Questions
1.) What is Medieval view of Man and Nature?
2.) What is Wester traditions?
3.) What is historical roots?
4.) What is alternative christian view?
5.) What is social organization view?