serve to motivate concern for the environment, based on subjective processes. This
section will deal with the consequences of taking such intuitions of oneness or
relatedness as just that—as a felt experience, or psychological awareness—without
grasping at the truth of any theories they might imply. I shall examine the interpretation
of oneness in deep ecology, as a sense of ‗identification‘ with other beings. This, clearly,
has resonances with the notion of compassion in its broadest sense of feeling or even
being with others. To suffer with others and to feel joy with them is perhaps the truest
sense of ‗being at one with the world‘; it is not a description of a fact but of a feeling. It
will emerge that the way identification is described in deep ecology is, at times, highly
reminiscent of the Buddhist virtues of love and compassion, which we encountered in
chapter 1. In both cases, there is a concern for the interests94 and welfare of those beings
that one loves or with whom one identifies.
I start, therefore, by examining the way in which deep ecologists describe
identification as well as their reasons for recommending it. The case for taking others‘
interests as our own is sometimes bolstered with metaphysical assertions, and therefore,
as was seen in the previous section, there is a major divergence from Mahāyāna
Buddhism. At other times, though, deep ecologists deny that any rational grounds can be
given for advancing identification, and, instead, they simply invite readers to adopt this
practice through providing a rather loose description of what identification feels like. For
this reason, there are several different definitions of ‗identification‘ in the literature;
sometimes it is based on a feeling of identity, at other times there is a sense of
communality, and in some cases, it is even claimed that one needs to appreciate the
difference of the other from oneself in order to appreciate fully his needs. There is also a
technical sense, according to Arne Naess, to which all deep ecologists subscribe, and to
which I shall limit my use of the term. ‗Identification,‘ that is, will be used to refer the
94 I use the terms ‗interests‘ and ‗needs‘ interchangeably, following Simon Blackburn‘s definition of the
former as ―Those things that a person needs, or that are conducive to his or her flourishing and success.‖
Perhaps needs can be understood as being more fundamental than interests, and while it is true that ―people
may not desire or value what they need,‖ as Blackburn suggests, I also subscribe to his claim that their ―real
interests might not be revealed by their immediate choices and preferences‖ (Blackburn 1996, 196–197).
That is, whether or not they know it, a being‘s real interests coincide with what it needs. There is no space
unfortunately to go into the question of how a bodhisattva would determine what a being‘s true interests or
needs were. Following the discussion in chapter 1, interests and needs will be attributed to individual
nonhuman beings, and collective entities, as well as to humans.
serve to motivate concern for the environment, based on subjective processes. This
section will deal with the consequences of taking such intuitions of oneness or
relatedness as just that—as a felt experience, or psychological awareness—without
grasping at the truth of any theories they might imply. I shall examine the interpretation
of oneness in deep ecology, as a sense of ‗identification‘ with other beings. This, clearly,
has resonances with the notion of compassion in its broadest sense of feeling or even
being with others. To suffer with others and to feel joy with them is perhaps the truest
sense of ‗being at one with the world‘; it is not a description of a fact but of a feeling. It
will emerge that the way identification is described in deep ecology is, at times, highly
reminiscent of the Buddhist virtues of love and compassion, which we encountered in
chapter 1. In both cases, there is a concern for the interests94 and welfare of those beings
that one loves or with whom one identifies.
I start, therefore, by examining the way in which deep ecologists describe
identification as well as their reasons for recommending it. The case for taking others‘
interests as our own is sometimes bolstered with metaphysical assertions, and therefore,
as was seen in the previous section, there is a major divergence from Mahāyāna
Buddhism. At other times, though, deep ecologists deny that any rational grounds can be
given for advancing identification, and, instead, they simply invite readers to adopt this
practice through providing a rather loose description of what identification feels like. For
this reason, there are several different definitions of ‗identification‘ in the literature;
sometimes it is based on a feeling of identity, at other times there is a sense of
communality, and in some cases, it is even claimed that one needs to appreciate the
difference of the other from oneself in order to appreciate fully his needs. There is also a
technical sense, according to Arne Naess, to which all deep ecologists subscribe, and to
which I shall limit my use of the term. ‗Identification,‘ that is, will be used to refer the
94 I use the terms ‗interests‘ and ‗needs‘ interchangeably, following Simon Blackburn‘s definition of the
former as ―Those things that a person needs, or that are conducive to his or her flourishing and success.‖
Perhaps needs can be understood as being more fundamental than interests, and while it is true that ―people
may not desire or value what they need,‖ as Blackburn suggests, I also subscribe to his claim that their ―real
interests might not be revealed by their immediate choices and preferences‖ (Blackburn 1996, 196–197).
That is, whether or not they know it, a being‘s real interests coincide with what it needs. There is no space
unfortunately to go into the question of how a bodhisattva would determine what a being‘s true interests or
needs were. Following the discussion in chapter 1, interests and needs will be attributed to individual
nonhuman beings, and collective entities, as well as to humans.
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