A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF ENVIRONMENTALISM VIII

Deep Ecology is thus ultimately inseparable from some form of spirituality. The contributions of philosophical Daoism which we will propose are also undergird by what amounts to a kind of spirituality. It behooves us, therefore, to consider what spirituality implies. And that, needless to say, is no easy task. Broadly speaking, it suggests that there resides within the human psyche an extra-cognitive potential for a connectedness with something other than itself or with itself as other than cognitively known. We need not and will not posit an actual “spirit” as part of a body, mind and spirit triad as some do in order to understand how this is possible. Perhaps the least “mystical” understanding of this potential spirituality can be found in Erich Fromm’s concept of biophilia, an innate love for life and other living things. It is in our nature to wish to connect with all other beings, including, we would suggest, those which are inanimate, and this is a reflection of our capacity to do so.

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