Spirituality as the Real Solution to Ecological Crisis

In her article titled “Spiritual Ecology: The Solution to our climate change,” Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee focuses not on the political and economic factors as the major solutions to the climate change, but lays focus on a rare aspect of religion as the main solution to the problem of climate change that has been a challenge to our society. In essence, Lee tries to convince the reader of the significance of thinking along the spiritual line with regard to resolving the ecological crisis. In his argument, he uses a number of strategies to convince the readers. These strategies include logos, where he uses logic and reason to appeal to the readers; ethos, where he uses his character and reputation to convince the reader of his stance; and finally pathos, where he creates an emotional response by appealing to the emotions of the reader. As such, this analysis will look at how Lee successfully uses these strategies to convince the readers into appreciating why a spiritual perspective is a necessary and significant aspect in resolving the ecological crisis.
At the beginning of the article, Lee recognizes that the causes of the crisis of climate change are our industrial cultures which are as a result of the toxins, chemicals and carbon emitted by the industries. However, Lee cannot ignore the fact that this crisis is a consequence of our actions when he says “At the root of our predicament is a deep disregard for both the environment and for the consequences of our actions until it is almost too late,” (2).

Here, Lee tries to make the reader understand that the crisis of climate change is in existence because we have disregarded what is important and only takes note of our actions when the damage has been done. In essence, Lee lays the ground for his argument by reminding the reader that the problem exists because we do not understand the root cause to help in its prevention. In this regard, Lee invites us into a possible solution which is looking at the crisis in a spiritual perspective. As such, he suggests that we recognize that there is a direct relationship or connection between our outer, ecological predicaments, physical and our disregard of the sacred in creation.
Essentially, in this case, Lee employs the use of logic and reason to make the reader recognize and appreciate the role spirituality plays in this crisis. On the same note, Lee says that “Spiritual Ecology is an exploration of the spiritual dimension of our present ecological crisis…at the core of Spiritual Ecology is an understanding that our present outer ecological crisis is a reflection of an inner spiritual crisis” (3) to bring out the fact that our inner spiritual crisis plays a big role in the outer ecological crisis. Ideally, Lee tries to make us understand that our disregard of our purpose in life and the understanding of the things that matter in life which is manifested in our inner beings contribute in our actions that result in the consequences of climate change crisis. In this regard, spirituality is what defines our purpose in life which means that our disregard of the spiritual ecology is the cause of our present or current ecological crisis. However, we are unaware of the sacred within ourselves and its connection to other creations in our outside environment. As such, Lee suggests that we be aware and conscious of our inner selves before making efforts to address the outer ecological crisis.
Also, Lee thinks that it is hard for us to perceive the current situation because we have refused to accept our inner selves which form the basis of our spirituality. He believes that we have to know the cause first for us to heal the symptoms which are, in this case, understanding the source of ecological crisis of climate change. He also notes that the danger and the crisis were foreseen by the indigenous people who “warned of the dangers of this present situation” (6). In essence, Lee tries to reason that for us to solve the current crisis, we have to first understand and be aware of the cause which, in this case, is the spiritual aspect. According to him, these two factors go hand in hand and one cannot resolve the outer crisis, which is the crisis of climate change, without recognizing, understanding and sorting out the inner crisis, which is the spiritual aspect of the situation. In short, Lee establishes the connection between the spiritual ecology and the out ecological crisis seen in our world today. Here, he successfully uses logos, reason and logic, to establish the connection between these two factors.
In order to make his argument authentic, Lee tries to appeal ethically to the reader by making it clear that he does not disregard the role of economic and political aspect in the ecological crisis. In fact, he makes it clear that he recognizes the role of these two aspects but only tries to appeal to the reader to appreciate the importance of a third and rare aspect which in this case is the spiritual aspect. This is evident in the first part of the article when he rhetorically asks, “…can we respond to the true nature of global climate change from just an economic or political perspective?” (1). Here, he recognizes the significance of the economic and political aspects in resolving the crisis of climate change but invites the reader to appreciate the significance of the third aspect which is the spiritual aspect. Ideally, introducing new ideas in a bid to convince the audience to understand and appreciate the ideas, a good writer needs to first agree with the current proven facts before introducing his or her new facts. This helps the reader to appreciate the character of the writer; those writers that seek to completely overhaul and criticize the already proven facts are never successful in their arguments. In this regard, Lee utilizes this quality to appeal to the reader in a bid to build his character and reputation. In essence, Lee successfully uses ethos to gain the attention of the reader so as to convince the reader about his argument and beliefs.
Also, Lee’s recognition of the economic and political aspects in resolving the ecological crisis makes his academic character become more objective and realistic. In as much as he recognizes these aspects, he merely concedes to the result of these two areas and the possible results of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico while indicating that there should be spiritual components in a way to solve the crisis. By developing his argument, he points out that people should do a lot more than those two areas which are mentioned above. With this information and objectivity, Lee successfully attracts readers’ attention on the issue of why people should solve the ecological crisis in spirituality as his argument indicates.
Further, Lee employs the emotional strategy, pathos, to get to the readers. This comes in the form of the tone he uses to put across his argument. In fact, he conveys his personal emotion with a serious and sober tone and creates a resonance to the readers by rhetorical questions. To strengthen the tone of the way he conveys his argument, he uses intriguing and touching statements that are aimed at inflicting thoughts and emotions on the reader. For instance, he tries to appeal to those that have had the experience of an inner conflict as well as those that have had to deal with the consequences of this conflict. He says, “For those of us who have directly experienced the inner world through dreams, visions or other experiences, we know its value while those who hunger for the reality of the soul know the pain of dismissing this dimension” (4). Here, Lee tries to have an emotional appeal to both those that experienced the inner world as well as those that have the hunger for reality. These sentences keep the reader thinking hard about the point Lee is trying to argue and invite the reader to appreciate the importance of spiritual ecology and the connection between the inner world and the out world. After intriguing the emotions, Lee is able to successfully convince the reader of the significance of spirituality in resolving the crisis of climate change and how the inner spiritual aspect of a person is interconnected to the outer ecological crisis thus the solution to the problem of climate change.
Also, the author employs the use of rhetorical questions as a way of intriguing emotions on the reader. Particularly at the end of the article, Lee asks questions that are aimed at creating and stimulating thoughts on the mind of the reader. By creating these thoughts, Lee is able to direct the attention of the reader to the most important question of our role in the crisis that has hit our society. For instance, at the end of the article, he talks to the reader saying, “We may ask ourselves, “What can I do?” but the inner world primarily requires consciousness rather than action” (7). Here, he tries to demonstrate to the reader that we have a responsibility with regard to the current situation and acting upon it may be our only solution to the problem. In fact, our responsibility is to identify the possible solutions to the problem which comes back to our lack of awareness of the major cause and solution to the crisis of climate change in our society. Fundamentally, the issue of climate change is a world crisis and is a concern of every individual in the society. Lee pointing fingers at our ignorance and disregard of the essential things in life makes one think where everything went wrong and this is the part of emotion that Lee tries to stimulate. In this regard, he successfully intrigues the emotions of the reader by making them feel like they have been part of the problem all this time and have not noticed or understood the real connection with regard to the crisis of climate change.
Finally, Lee’s argument is well put. He successfully argues his points by using the strategies of pathos, logos and ethos to convince the readers into appreciating his point of view. As such, he effectively establishes the connection between the inner world that exists within a person and the outer ecological crisis; in essence, he establishes that our disregard of the spiritual aspect with regard to the climate change is the main reason we are struggling to deal with the crisis. Hence, spiritual ecology is the solution to the ecological crisis present in our society today.
Work Cited
Llewllyn Vaughan-Lee. “Spiritual Ecology. The Solution to our Climate Change Crisis?.” Huntington Post. Jul 02, 2015. Print