Cosmic religion

In Towards an ecological world view, written to introduce his book The Way, EG denounces 'modernism' - the view that "all benefits are man-made, the product of scientific, technological and industrial progress, and made available via the market system". In its place, he argues, we must create a new world view rooted in ancestral traditions and based on an understanding of mankind's place in the cosmos.

Towards a biospheric ethic - Modern moral philosophers have based their ethical principles on a grossly distorted view of nature and human society. The result has been a 'technospheric' ethic that seeks to equate progress and the moral good with economic expansion and the dominance of man over nature. A new 'biospheric' ethic is required. Written for the Institute of Science and Society, January 2003.

Towards a biospheric ethic - as published on the Instutute of Science and Society website - slightly different to the version we have on this site.

Whatever happened to ecology? - a critique of the reductionist, mechanistic science of ecology which has turned against the living world. Written in 2002, this is a greatly extended and updated version of an article first published in The Ecologist Vol. 15 No. 3, 1985.

Art and ethics - Edward Goldsmith explores the themes of knowledge, intuition, aesthetics and the Sacred. Published in The Structurist magazine Nos. 41-42, 2001-2002: "Art and Altruism".

The cosmic in art, architecture and ecology at the Millennium - from "A Sacred Trust: ecology and spritual vision", edited by David Cadman and John Carey, Tenemos Academy Papers No. 17, 2002. In this essay, Edward Goldsmith argues that the original purpose of art is to express mankind's relationship with the cosmos.

Religion at the Millennium (long version) - "Whether we like it or not, the religio-culture of tribal peoples tells them the truth about their relationship with the cosmos. It does so, of course, in their special way - the way that would be best understood and believed in - not just intellectually, but with their heart and soul. It tells them the truth in the way that is most likely to be acted upon." This is an extended version of the introduction to The Ecologist's special issue on Cosmic Religion, November 1999.

Archaic societies and cosmic order - a summary - an edited version of Chapter 61 of The Way: towards an ecological world view. This version published in The Ecologist Vol. 30 No. 1, January / February 2000. "Across the world, from the beginnings of prehistory, the belief that society must follow a certain path - or 'Way' - in order to maintain itself, and the wholeness of the world around it, has been a common theme running through many societies and cultures... ."

The Way - an ecological world view - an article for Resurgence magazine which introduces Edward Goldsmith's great work The Way. In it he denounces the world view of 'modernism' and argues for a new ecologically-based ethic to take its place.

Religion at the Millennium (short version) - "The relevance of the religion of primal people is that they are totally reconcilable with the principle that the destruction of the environment is a sin, more so, it is their most fundamental teaching. Indeed primal religio-culture is concerned above all with the preservation of the order of the cosmos and hence with that of its constituent families, communities, and ecosystems ...".. Introduction to The Ecologist's special issue on Cosmic Religion, November 1999.

Did God really do such a bad job? - a leading article for The Ecologist Vol. 28 No. 3, May / June 1998. Republished in The Doomsday Funbook (Jon Carpenter Books, February 2006). "Underlying the world view of the secular Religion of Progress is the fundamental assumption that the world is badly designed. God did a bad job, and it is incumbent on man, armed as he is with all his science, technology, industry and free trade, to transform it in accordance with his vastly superior design ... "

Gaia and the global corporations (original version) - the keynote address delivered to the International Forum on Globalization in April 1998. It argues for "a network of loosely connected local economies ... rooted in a particular society to which they are accountable economically, socially, ecologically, and morally, and catering largely, though not entirely, for local and regional markets ... ".

The cosmic covenant - a talk to the Religion & Environment Education Programme (REEP) Conference for Bishops & Theologians on 2 February 1998, also published in Fourth World Review in the same year. "Man is naturally a religious being. It is not religion as Karl Marx insisted, but materialism that is the opiate of the people. What is more, religion is even today a powerful force and could be very much more so if it were seen by the public at large as providing the very basis of the world view with which we must all be imbued if we are to survive on this beleaguered planet ... "

The Way - a synthesis - This article by Edward Goldsmith represents the 'synthesized statement' of his great work The Way: an ecological world view. It was published in InterCulture Vol. XXX no. 1, Winter - Spring 1997, Issue no 132.

Re-embedding religion in society, the natural world and the cosmos - written in 1997 following Edward Goldsmith's participation in a meeting on Patmos the previous year, to discuss religious aspects of the protection of the natural world. He argues that the Church must develop a "new theology ... based on what we are finding out about the original cosmic nature of the Judaeo-Christian tradition" and "have the courage to side with all those people who seek to reverse economic development and in particular the globalization of this fatal process".

The great reinterpretation requires a conversion to the world-view of ecology - chapter 66 of The Way: An Ecological World View, originally published in 1992. This text is taken from the revised and enlarged edition, University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia, 1998.

For vernacular man, to serve his gods is to follow the Way - chapter 63 of The Way: An Ecological World View, originally published in 1992. This text is taken from the revised and enlarged edition, University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia, 1998.

For vernacular man, to increase his stock of "vital force" is to follow the Way - Chapter 62 of The Way: An Ecological World View, originally published in 1992. This text is taken from the revised and enlarged edition, University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia, 1998.

Vernacular man follows the Way - chapter 61 of The Way: An Ecological World View, originally published in 1992. This text is taken from the revised and enlarged edition, University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia, 1998.

Ecology is a faith - chapter 16 of The Way: An Ecological World View, originally published in 1992. This text is taken from the revised and enlarged edition, University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia, 1998.

High technology euphoria - review of The Awakening Earth - our next evolutionary leap, by Peter Russell. Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1982. Published in The Ecologist Vol. 13 No. 5, 1983. "The author recognises the extent of the ecological problems faced by the world today. He recognises too that something drastic has to be done to prevent massive catastrophes. This is as far as I go along with him. In fact, I disagree with just about every other point he makes ... ".

The family basis of social structure - the family in its various forms is the universal basis of all human societies. However the modern family has so weakened that society has become "simply a mass of socially unrelated individuals among whom a semblance of order, however superficial, can only be maintained by means of increasingly powerful external or asystemic controls: bureaucracies, dictators ... ". This version was published as Chapter 2 of "The Stable Society" by Edward Goldsmith, The Wadebridge Press 1978. It was originally published in two parts in The Ecologist, Vol. 1 No. 1 and Vol. 1 No. 2, 1976.

Jus Animalium - review of The Best of Friends, by John Aspinall. Published in The Ecologist Vol. 6 No. 10, December 1976.

The social structure of the environment - Published in the "Towards a unified science" column, The Ecologist Vol. 2 No. 3 March 1972.

The disintegration of pre-Islamic society in North Arabia - The decline of the many municipal religions of the city-states of North Arabia created the opening for the establishment of Islam as the national religion of the Arab people. Published in the "Towards a unified science" column, The Ecologist, Vol. 1 No. 18, December 1971.

The influence of words on the study of religion - Published in the Towards a Unified Science Section in The Ecologist Vol 1 No 13 July 1971. "... 'God' means something very different to different peoples. To a Japanese he is above all the supreme ancestor. To the early Christians, he was undoubtedly a big anthropomorphic father. To the Jews of the Old Testament he was a strict, cruel and jealous supertribal chieftain. To the educated Christian of today, he is an undefinable and abstract force... "