How to Engage with Non-Human Others in Ecosystems from a Phenomenological and Interreligious Perspective
Humanity is currently in the midst of a number of serious ecological crises. Various scientific, philosophical, and religious ideas have been put forth in response to these global crises. Here, I suggest that the solutions to ecological problems can be best achieved when we undergo an essential chan...
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MDPI AG
2024-12-01
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| author | Youngjin Kiem |
| author_facet | Youngjin Kiem |
| author_sort | Youngjin Kiem |
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| description | Humanity is currently in the midst of a number of serious ecological crises. Various scientific, philosophical, and religious ideas have been put forth in response to these global crises. Here, I suggest that the solutions to ecological problems can be best achieved when we undergo an essential change in our perspective on the existence and value of the natural world. In this regard, interreligious engagement and research, which address the multiple worldviews that emerge from individual religions and philosophies, have great potential to fundamentally transform our view of ecosystems. The problem is how to conduct such interreligious engagement and research, which has—unfortunately—to this point been overlooked. In this context, I propose the “four-step method of interreligious sympoiesis to address the ecological crisis”. This is a phenomenological–hermeneutic method that involves the following steps: (1) Suspension of Judgment (Epoché): the mind’s performing an epoché, which is taken as an ethical or religious vow; (2) Empathetic Reduction: the mind’s engaging in empathy with non-human beings; (3) Symbiotic Reduction: the mind’s envisioning of proper coexistence between humans and non-human beings in both minimal and maximal ways; (4) Interreligious Hermeneutical Synthesis: the arranging and synthesizing of the ideas obtained from the above reductions in a specific or comprehensive manner from an interreligious perspective. This paper aims to expound and defend these ideas. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3bc36a152fbb438f96dd3bcad8735e32 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
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| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj-art-3bc36a152fbb438f96dd3bcad8735e322024-12-27T14:50:35ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442024-12-011512153910.3390/rel15121539How to Engage with Non-Human Others in Ecosystems from a Phenomenological and Interreligious PerspectiveYoungjin Kiem0Department of Philosophy, Dongguk University—Seoul Campus, Seoul 04620, Republic of KoreaHumanity is currently in the midst of a number of serious ecological crises. Various scientific, philosophical, and religious ideas have been put forth in response to these global crises. Here, I suggest that the solutions to ecological problems can be best achieved when we undergo an essential change in our perspective on the existence and value of the natural world. In this regard, interreligious engagement and research, which address the multiple worldviews that emerge from individual religions and philosophies, have great potential to fundamentally transform our view of ecosystems. The problem is how to conduct such interreligious engagement and research, which has—unfortunately—to this point been overlooked. In this context, I propose the “four-step method of interreligious sympoiesis to address the ecological crisis”. This is a phenomenological–hermeneutic method that involves the following steps: (1) Suspension of Judgment (Epoché): the mind’s performing an epoché, which is taken as an ethical or religious vow; (2) Empathetic Reduction: the mind’s engaging in empathy with non-human beings; (3) Symbiotic Reduction: the mind’s envisioning of proper coexistence between humans and non-human beings in both minimal and maximal ways; (4) Interreligious Hermeneutical Synthesis: the arranging and synthesizing of the ideas obtained from the above reductions in a specific or comprehensive manner from an interreligious perspective. This paper aims to expound and defend these ideas.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/15/12/1539ecological crisisinterreligious engagementinterreligious researchphenomenological methodepochéreduction |
| spellingShingle | Youngjin Kiem How to Engage with Non-Human Others in Ecosystems from a Phenomenological and Interreligious Perspective Religions ecological crisis interreligious engagement interreligious research phenomenological method epoché reduction |
| title | How to Engage with Non-Human Others in Ecosystems from a Phenomenological and Interreligious Perspective |
| title_full | How to Engage with Non-Human Others in Ecosystems from a Phenomenological and Interreligious Perspective |
| title_fullStr | How to Engage with Non-Human Others in Ecosystems from a Phenomenological and Interreligious Perspective |
| title_full_unstemmed | How to Engage with Non-Human Others in Ecosystems from a Phenomenological and Interreligious Perspective |
| title_short | How to Engage with Non-Human Others in Ecosystems from a Phenomenological and Interreligious Perspective |
| title_sort | how to engage with non human others in ecosystems from a phenomenological and interreligious perspective |
| topic | ecological crisis interreligious engagement interreligious research phenomenological method epoché reduction |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/15/12/1539 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT youngjinkiem howtoengagewithnonhumanothersinecosystemsfromaphenomenologicalandinterreligiousperspective |