[permaculture-oceania] Re: Care of spirit - a question of ethics (jedd)

[Russ Grayson]

Nicely put, Rosemary. The difficulty in introducing spiritual stuff to the
ethics of Permaculture is that it potentially alienates non-believers in
things spiritual, then there is the argument about what spirituality is and
its multiple forms. Spirituality can lead to connection with religions and
we know that that's a minefield of opinion, disagreement and occasional good
work.

Maybe Bill realised this when he made the comment you report below. In that
case, perhaps Permaculture is better to remain a secular practice.
Especially as it has to operate in societies that may have spiritual beliefs
that are sometimes at war with each other. There's no reason people with
particular spiritual beliefs or religious practices cannot use the design
system - both of us know that there are religious people who do very good
work and actually live their religious beliefs.

...Russ

On 5/8/06 8:07 PM, "Rosemary Morrow" <rowe at lisp.com.au> wrote:

> 
> I remember having a discussion about ethics in a PDC group once, and
> I was a bit perplexed.   Later I was talking to Bill Mollison and
> asked what he thought about this,  and I appreciated his response
> because of its clarity:
> 
> "Permaculture is about tangibles"
> 
> I think this is a useful guide to not adding new items.  Also almost
> everything people want to add is subsumed under the ethics.  Although
> I was just thinking that we have principles, strategies and
> techniques for Care for the Earth, and distribute surplus, and reduce
> consumption, we really dont have very many for Care for People.   I
> have added a chapter on Permaculture at Work, with help from Margot
> Turner, and it adds such things as
> 
> Value people for their differences,
> 
> and then uses many of the principles at work such as co-operate don't
> compete.
> 
> I have also been thinking that the design of permaculture for water
> or soils, actually enables some extra human rights which will be
> required this century such as the:
> 
> Right to clean water, air, uncontaminated soils etc.  Right to non
> genetically modified food
> 
> I could see these being included in any Bill or Charter of Human
> Rights which aims to meet the needs of the future.
> 
> I guess you will take some of these ideas further.
> 
> Warmly,
> 
> Rowe Morrow
> 
> 
> 
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