Foundations of integral ecology

In: Chiesa e società 9

Abstract

The notion of integral ecology is complex and multidimensional. It expresses an ideal that requires a long-term commitment in order to be fulfilled. It offers ample space for research and development in a multiplicity of fields, e.g. technology, economic policy, culture, and opens the door to an interdisciplinary dialogue based on the awareness that "everything is intimately interconnected". In fact, the notion of integral ecology, itself, will need to be clarified over time, and this book, on the foundations of integral ecology, seeks to contribute to this process. It explores the relevance of the notion of integral ecology to the fields of social science, philosophy, and theology, these being fields in which the community of scholars represented here have a competence. It stresses how the crises through which we are passing is ethical and socio-environmental, and that responding to it will require the mobilizing of resources that include the cultural, spiritual and the educational. It reflects on how deep is the need for the kind of "change of course" for which Pope Francis calls and how this will require a paradigm shift in relationships from the most local to the most global of levels. At the same time, the book remains hopeful. It recognizes that the ecological crisis represents both a challenge and an opportunity-a privileged moment of stimulus to conversion and more authentic living. Just as the crisis is multidimensional, so is the call for a responsible-truly integral-response to it.