The Dream of the Earth

Posted on 06 May 2017 by Thomas Berry

This landmark work, first published by Sierra Club Books in 1988, has established itself as a foundational volume in the ecological canon In it, noted cultural historian Thomas Berry provides nothing less than a new intellectual ethical framework for the human community by positing planetary well being as the measure of all human activity.Drawing on the wisdom of Western philosophy, Asian thought, and Native American traditions, as well as contemporary physics and evolutionary biology, Berry offers a new perspective that recasts our understanding of science, technology, politics, religion, ecology, and education He shows us why it is important for us to respond to the Earth s need for planetary renewal, and what we must do to break free of the technological trance that drives a misguided dream of progress Only then, he suggests, can we foster mutually enhancing human Earth relationships that can heal our traumatized global biosystem. Read The Dream of the Earth – kino-fada.fr It took me forever to get through this relatively short book, due to both the dry, academic prose and the sheer number of interesting ideas per page Although it is a challenging read and, in some ways, a bit dated it is definitely worth the attention of anyone with a serious interest in environmental philosophy The core of the message is simple We absolutely have to find a new way of relating to the earth, or we will destroy it, and thus destroy ourselves All of our current modes of being It took me forever to get through this relatively short book, due to both the dry, academic prose and the sheer number of interesting ideas per page Although it is a challenging read and, in some ways, a bit dated it is definitely worth the attention of anyone with a serious interest in environmental philosophy The core of the message is simple We absolutely have to find a new way of relating to the earth, or we will destroy it, and thus destroy ourselves All of our current modes of being in economics, religion, science...Required reading for everyone on the planet.My first impressions of this book were that it is not particularly well written I had a hard time gelling with Berry s writing style, and I never did quite get the hang of it It had the feel of being second rate I shouldn t say that first off, but there it is.That said, I must also say that its ideas are powerful and compelling I will explain by listing the ways it inspired me, the things it inspired me to learnabout 1 the sequence and detail of the galactic cosmology2 the sequenti My first impressions of this book were that it is not particularly well written I had a hard time gelling with Berry s writing style, and I never did quite get the hang of it It had the feel of being second rate I shouldn t say that first off, but ther...I have tried so hard to like Thomas Berry.I give up I can t do it Dense, unreadable prose based on the sketchiest types of half evidence, stitched together with such slender chains of reasoning that a good sneeze could rip it apart Nice ideas Lovely philosophy A wonderful world would result if, indeed, there were any basis for his proposals or if they were implementable by animals with the sorts of brains human beings have But they re not, and I can t waste onesecond of my life belie I have tried so hard to like Thomas Berry.I give up I can t do it Dense, unreadable prose based on the sketchiest types of half evidence, stitched together with such slender chains of reasoning that a good sneeze could rip it apart Nice ideas Lovely philosophy A wonderful world would result if, in...We needvoices like Thomas Berry.It s strange reading a fervent environmental call to action almost thirty years after its publication, sitting in a world worse off than the one which inspired its writing An important book.Very insightful ideas regarding the connections with our planet I found Thomas Berry s explanations for the dream of the earth and the solutions to our current ecological crisis innovative and encouraging.now I own itfrom the library computer Publishers Weekly ReviewsThis first volume in a new series, the Sierra Club Nature and Natural Philosophy Library, explores human earth relations and seeks a new, non anthropocentric approach to the natural world According to cultural historian Berry, our immediate danger is not nuclear war but industrial plundering our entire society, he argues, is trapped in a closed cycle of production and consumption Berry points out that our perception of the earth now I own itfrom the library computer Publishers Weekly ReviewsThis first volume in a new series, the Sierra Club Nature and Natural Philosophy Library, explores human earth relations and seeks a new, non anthropocentric appr...One of Cambridge Sustainability s Top 50 Books for Sustainability, as voted for by our alumni network of over 3,000 senior leaders from around the world To find out , click here.The Dream of the Earth is a collection of essays which all advance a deeply spiritual and ecological interpretation of the world, its current woes and potential solutions Berry believes we understand and interpret the world and our role within it based on our story of the universe , our dream or world view The st One of Cambridge Sustainability s Top 50 Books for Sustainability, as voted for by our alumni network of over 3,000 senior leaders from around the world To find out , click here.The Dream of the Earth is a collection of essays which all advance a deeply spiritual and ecological interpretation of the world, its current woes and potential solutions Berry believes we understand and interpret the world and our role within it based on our story of the universe , our dream or world view The story is the source of a society s collective psyche and not only explains the past, but also guides our future While other animals have their behaviour embedded in their DNA, we humans need stories to find our way and understand what to do.The underlying theme of the book is that our vision, or dream, of progress has brought a lot...Thomas Berry, a monastic who chose to use his solitude to study everything from comparative religion and philosophy to agricultural production and particle physics, has synthesized his wide and deep knowledge in this volume with a thoughtfulness rare in this or any age The book is a call to awaken to a new andproductive geopolitical paradigm involving a recognition of the rights of the earth and all its inhabitants Reading it is like being blessed with a new set of eyes with which to see Thomas Berry, a monastic who chose to use his solitude to study everything from comparative religion and philosophy to agricultural produc...

English
06 May 2017

Thomas Berry