In the Name of the Goddess

In the Name of the Goddess: A Biophilic Ethic offers a challenging framework to transform our moral thinking and reconsider our relationship with the natural world. Constructing its foundation on biophilia as the love of life, In the Name of the Goddess advances a radical eco-feminist ethic that seeks to end abusive practices, planetary oppression, and endorses a life-centered philosophy. The book goes beyond traditional ethical theories and inspires a dynamic holistic ethic of interconnections, ecological sustainability, and eco-justice. It promotes social harmony and ecological balance through moral, political, spiritual principles and practices on which one may erect a foundation for integrating wisdom and action in our daily lives, communities, and international policies. It is a must-read for anyone interested in such issues as feminism/eco-feminism, nature-based spiritualties, environmental ethics, and social justice. In examining the origins of our Indo-European roots, Donna Giancola presents a novel and provocative comparative analysis of the role of myth in the context of the earliest conceptions of justice. In bringing justice to the forefront, the book lays bare a path that assimilates global sustainability, social activism, convergence of moral reasoning, and ecological care. -- Bina Gupta, University of Missouri-Columbia, curator's research professor emerita In the Name of the Goddess weaves together Goddess worship past and present, the wisdom in matriarchal societies, and an earth-sustaining, human-sustaining ethical commitment. In this comprehensive study, Giancola brings together ancient Indian practice, Greek mythology, Buddhist meditative techniques, and other life-affirming ways of experiencing the world to find a way forward out of our environmental and social crises. Offering a variety of perspectives which will appeal to different readers, Giancola provides inspiration in this insightful and deeply hopeful work that honors nature, women and all humans, and other inhabitants of our beautiful planet! -- Barbara Darling, Wheaton College