cogito

Two things you have likely never seen juxtaposed, much less pondered. Yet, I’m up to my ears in it at the moment, writing a midterm paper for PHIL 3575: Judaic Religion & Philosophy. I’m answering two questions:

Does the Hebrew Bible, or subsequent Jewish tradition, teach environmental responsibility or not? Answer this question by analyzing the argument or arguments of at least one of the essays anthologized in Part I of Judaism and Environmental Ethics. In conjunction with your answer, examine how well the essay(s) you choose to analyze take(s) into account the implications of Genesis 1:26-28 as understood by Robert Sacks (you will need to include a clear account of how Sacks understands Genesis 1 as a whole).

…and…

How do ecology, Judaism and philosophy fit together, or perhaps fail to fit, in attempting to face the current environmental crisis? Answer this question by analyzing the argument of at least one of the essays anthologized in Part III of Judaism and Environmental Ethics. In conjunction with your answer, examine how well the essay(s) you choose to analyze take(s) into account the implications of Leon Kass’s understanding of the environmental distinctions spelled out in Genesis 1 (you will need to include a clear account of how Kass understands those distinctions and their bearing on the biblical dietary laws).

So, I shouldn’t even be spending my time sharing this information. Just out of curiosity - do any of you have opinions about this, based on your understanding of the Pentateuch, particularly Genesis? I’m not asking for help on this paper (after all, it’s due tomorrow). I’m just curious if you have ever considered it.

That said, if you’re interested in checking out Dr. Yaffe’s book, Judaism and Environmental Ethics: A Reader, it is partially readable via Google Books. I must say, as esoteric as those topics sound, this anthology has been a very interesting read (and admittedly enlightening regarding dietary laws and even the creation account).

Wish me luck… Update: I’ll probably post some or all of my paper when I am finished. That is, at least the parts I think are relatively interesting!

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