The Self as Part of a Whole

1
The Self as Part of a Whole
Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

• Hinduism all individuals are really only
  expressions of one divine, eternal self. We
  cannot really possess anything privately as our
  own, and should affirm the totality of the world
  as our sacred reality
• Taoism all things express the order and cycle of
  reality. We should embrace the way or harmony of
  nature as our own

2
The Non-Human-Centered Self Deep Ecology
Arne Naess (b. 1912)

• My true self includes all beings in the world
• We maximize self-realization by identifying with
  and promoting the welfare of all of nature
• We should avoid the selfish consumption of
  resources and destruction of natural diversity
  not because such acts are immoral but because
  they inhibit our joyful experience of nature

3
The Self as Evolved AnimalCharles Darwin
(1809-82)

• Physical similarities between humans and other
  animals indicates our links to them
• Intellectual and emotional differences between
  humans and other animals are minor and can be
  explained as products of random variation,
  adaptation, natural selection, and conditioning