Embodying the Transcendent: On the Way to a Global Ethic

Abstract

The threat now posed by human beings to the future of life on Earth demands a genuinely global response. It would seem to require a global ethic of some kind that is more than the sum of humanity’s existing declarations of rights and freedoms, wars of intercession, and judicial systems of redress – a concrete ethic of global responsibility which normalises altruistic behaviours while at the same time greatly extending their scope. This article makes the case for such an ethic. It is underpinned by the conviction that human beings do not ‘begin and end with themselves in their knowing’ and takes the view that to see the world as meaningful and whole in its own right; to embrace wholeheartedly the idea that everything is connected; to see oneself as real only in relationship, as free only for others, and as finally responsible – before God – for one’s actions, shapes a way of being in the world that gives those who practise it the opportunity to construct a fully inclusive ethic of justice, care, and compassion for the whole creation.