Week 9

I actually enjoyed chapter six of Steven Bouma-Prediger's For the Beauty of the Earth: A Christian Vision for Creation Care entitled, "What Kind of People Ought We Be?" This is probably the first chapter of this book with which I did not have serious issues, which surprised me, but I think I realized why I was more receptive and appreciative of Bouma-Prediger's writings while reading this chapter. It wasn't because I was necessarily any more open-minded than usual, and I haven't necessarily become any more prone to embrace ecology over the course of this semester. Rather, I believe that I liked this chapter most because it, in essence, has nothing to do with ecology.

Okay, I understand that the chapter actually has everything to do with ecology. Care for the earth is the primary focus of the entire book, after all, but the practicality of Bouma-Prediger's arguments presented in this chapter extends far beyond the field of ecology. At the core of the chapter, Bouma-Prediger asserts that to counter the many ecological crises in this world, we, as humans, need to become a more virtuous people; our treatment of the earth, according to Bouma-Prediger, is a reflection of our character, so we ought to reevaluate our character before considering how we ought to change our behavior. He explains virtue in an Aristotelian sense, presenting several virtues, such as respect and receptivity, humility and honesty, and benevolence and love, for example, in contrast with their vices and relating said virtues to ecological behavior.

This certainly isn't the first of Bouma-Prediger's points in his book with which I have agreed, but I found the most truth in this chapter than I have in any other. That being said, I wish he would have expanded. Virtues are not specific to ecology; human behavior as a whole can be revolutionized if virtue gains value in the world. Thus, I wanted Bouma-Prediger to conclude that a virtuous people will not simply be an ecologically sound people; they will be a well-rounded people in almost all regards.

Consider respect and receptivity, for example. Bouma-Prediger's audience is primarily a Christian one, so his argument has a certain theological element to it. He claims that "creation has a God-given integrity and value. Humans have a moral obligation to protect and preserve nonhuman species. Therefore, in the shaping of our character we must cultivate the virtues of respect and receptivity and actively discourage the vices of conceit and reverence, of autonomy and addiction" (137). He's completely right; having a respect for creation will certainly yield a more appropriate treatment of it, but why stop there? Respect could change the world! Respect could resolve disputes between political parties. Respect could settle workers' rights. Respect could even stop simple playground bullies in their pathetic, prepubescent tracks, if it is properly embraced.

Of course, respect is not the only virtue that the world needs to value; all of the virtues Bouma-Prediger mentions, because they are very interrelated, could have the same effect on society. Hence, virtue, while it certainly ought to be the basis of a truly Christian care for the earth, really ought to be the basis of a truly noble life. I understand that Bouma-Prediger is not asserting that virtue is only valuable to achieve ecological order; he truly believes that virtue, in the Aristotelian sense in which he describes it, allows humans to be complete in character. However, his chapter, regardless of its truth, seemed unnecessary.

Let me put it this way: Bouma-Prediger's arguments presented throughout the chapter are like a person saying that since cigarettes are a large contributor to forest fires, people should stop smoking to prevent forest fires. While this is undoubtedly true, there are countless other, more severe dangers of cigarette smoking that are known and have been made abundantly clear. Ergo, even though there is value in arguing that people should stop smoking to prevent forest fires, it seems more appropriate to argue that people should stop smoking to prevent any number of other harmful consequences.

That's a little what Bouma-Prediger sounds like in this chapter. While there is value in saying that people should be a more virtuous people to embody a Christian care of the earth, it seems more appropriate to argue that people should become a more virtuous people for the sake of any other issues in the modern world. I don't mean to prioritize the problems of the world; ecological crises are not inherently less urgent than any other crises, so we, as humans, do not need to solve other, more important problems before developing a proper care for the earth. All I mean to say is that a truly virtuous people, whether Christian or not, will be so much more than a people who know how to take care of their home; they will be a people who truly know how to live in their home.