Is Eco-theologian Thomas Berry a Thomist?

Scientia et Fides 7 (1):47-71 (2019)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

I examine the views of the renowned Catholic environmentalist, Thomas Berry, C.P., by comparing them with those of Thomas Aquinas, an author Berry frequently references. I intend to show that while the two share a number of views in common, ultimately the two diverge on many foundational issues, resulting in differing conclusions as to how we should regard and treat the environment. Aquinas upholds divine transcendence, whereas Berry regards the notion of divine transcendence to lead to the exploitation of creation and locates the divine in the universe itself. Berry accordingly thinks that we should revere all natural things, whereas Aquinas thinks we should revere God and creatures in God’s image. Aquinas maintains that the human soul is created by God and is in God’s image. He sees our rational soul as placing us above other natural things, and from it follows our responsibility to care for nature. Berry, to the contrary, sees this affirmation of discontinuity between humans and the rest of nature to be the root of our environmental woes, as providing a justification for human exploitation of nature. For Berry, humans have no special status, but are one member alongside others in the earth community. Rather than being created by God, “humans have nothing but what they receive from the universe.” By highlighting both the similarities and differences between these authors, I hope to contribute to the project of formulating a sound environmental ethics.

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 90,593

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Earth Matters.Christopher Hrynkow & Dennis O’Hara - 2012 - Journal for Peace and Justice Studies 22 (2):3-28.
Thomas Aquinas.Christopher M. Brown - 2017 - Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Economics, its effects on the life systems of the world ; the earth, a new context for religious unity.Thomas Berry - 1987 - In Thomas Berry, Anne Lonergan, Caroline Richards & Gregory Baum (eds.), Thomas Berry and the New Cosmology. Twenty-Third Publications.
Thomas Aquinas.[author unknown] - 2017 - Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Thomas Aquinas.Christopher M. Brown - 2017 - Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
The Earth, A New Context for Religious Unity.Thomas Berry - 1987 - In Thomas Mary Berry, Anne Lonergan, Caroline Richards & Gregory Baum (eds.), Thomas Berry and the New Cosmology. Twenty-Third Publications. pp. 37.
Creation and Metaphysics: The Way of Aquinas' Thought.Guang-Cheng Wu - 2011 - Philosophy and Culture 38 (5):161-177.
Eco-Thomism.Jill Leblanc - 1999 - Environmental Ethics 21 (3):293-306.

Analytics

Added to PP
2019-05-19

Downloads
9 (#1,079,720)

6 months
1 (#1,040,386)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?