Convergence with Nature: A Daoist Perspective

Exploring our relationship to nature—to animals, to plants, and to natural places—this book asks how that relationship can be shaped into an appropriate one that contributes to the good of people's lives as a whole. Religions and philosophies have much to say about our relationship with nature, and Chinese Daoist philosophy has long been regarded as among those most sympathetic to the natural world. Daoists seek an attunement to the Dao (the Way) which is characterized by a sense of flow (water being a favorite metaphor), spontaneity, noninterference, humility, and patience: virtues that contrast with the aggressive and exploitative values that characterize a modern world increasingly subject to economic imperatives. Like the best of contemporary nature writing, the classic Daoist texts reveal a yearning for convergence with nature, nostalgia for a lost intimacy with the natural world, disillusion with humanity or its products, and a feeling for nature's mystery. David Cooper explains how these attitudes are rooted in Daoist philosophy and explores their implications for our practical engagement with natural environments. He discusses, too, a number of ethical issues, including hunting, intensive farming, and environmental activism, that reflective people need to address in their efforts to heal our relationship with the Earth.