From The Enchantment of Nature to Fashioning a Persuasive Planetary Ethic

Abstract

Many discussions surrounding environmental ethics and spirituality revolve aroundenchantment and place. Such notions are inherently marked by transcendentunderstandings of “religion” and “nature.” This article suggests that these transcendentunderstandings could be problematic in an era of globalization marked by movement andchange. Using the work of postmodern thinkers to destabilize foundational concepts of“Nature,” as well as the sacred, this article argues for fashioning a planetary ethic thatpays attention to aesthetics of movement and change, moving environmental ethics froma discussion about place to a discussion about pace.