Shame, Moral Motivation, and Climate Change

An emotion like shame is endowed with special motivational force. Drawing on Ralph Waldo Emerson's concept of shame, I develop an account of moral motivation that lends new perspective to the contemporary climate crisis. Whereas religious ethicists often engage the problem of climate change by...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Worldviews
Main Author: Powell, Russell C. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill [2019]
In: Worldviews
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Emerson, Ralph Waldo 1803-1882 / Shame / Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries / Climatic change / Ecological movement / Christian ethics
IxTheo Classification:AD Sociology of religion; religious policy
AG Religious life; material religion
CH Christianity and Society
NCB Personal ethics
NCG Environmental ethics; Creation ethics
Further subjects:B Climate Change
B Shame
B Ralph Waldo Emerson
B Religious Ethics
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
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Description
Summary:An emotion like shame is endowed with special motivational force. Drawing on Ralph Waldo Emerson's concept of shame, I develop an account of moral motivation that lends new perspective to the contemporary climate crisis. Whereas religious ethicists often engage the problem of climate change by re-imagining the metaphors, symbols, and values of problematic cosmologies, I focus on some specific moral tactics generated by religious communities who use their traditions to confront climate destruction. In particular, Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries, a Christian non-profit organization that seeks to infuse a renewed commitment in church parishes to bioregions and watersheds, effectively employs shame in the context of its Christian practice and leadership. My analysis of Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries demonstrates both the efficacy of shame to motivate environmentally responsible behavior as well as the advantage to religious ethics of considering contextual practices over abstract cosmologies.
ISSN:1568-5357
Contains:Enthalten in: Worldviews
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/15685357-02302003