Relating to Nature: Worship, Care, and Ecological Ethics

This chapter describes some of the possible ways human beings can perceive, based on alternative conceptualisations, narratives, and imaginations of nature described earlier in the book. The human being within these world views is not seen as separated from nature, but is seen as an embodied, en-worlded being who is connected to other beings and the world in an ethical relationship. These relationships are understood through moral actions towards the environment given by some central principles of ethical thought such as righteous duties (dharma) and non-injury (ahiṃsā). This chapter concludes with a section on the idea of conservation and ethics with a pragmatic note on the conservation practices of the Bishnoi community.