Document Type

Article

Language

eng

Format of Original

16 p.

Publication Date

2002

Publisher

Cistercian Studies Quarterly

Source Publication

Cistercian Studies Quarterly

Source ISSN

1062-6549

Abstract

As scholars of world religions search for promising ways of responding to the ecological crisis, the Christian tradition can look for inspiration to Descriptio Positionis Seu Situationis Monasterii Claraevallensis, a twelfth-century description of the site and surroundings of Clairvaux abbey. The text exudes the unnamed author's deep appreciation and gratitude for the cooperative interactivity of human beings, other species, the land, water, and air that assured their mutual sustainability and maintained the site's integrity. This view predates by centuries the efforts of contemporary philosophers to reflect on the human relation to other biota and abiota that constitute ecological systems, to develop ethical principles that can guide human functioning as integral parts of these systems, and to facilitate systematic thinking about sustainable development strategies encouraged by the United Nation's World Commission on Environment and Development.

Comments

Published Version. Cistercian Studies Quarterly, Vol. 37, No. 2 (2002): 187-203. Publisher Link. © 2002 Cistercian Studies Quarterly.

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