The 9 Petalled Flower Of Peace: Petal 6 - Science and Ecology

In former times, under Nazi Germany, and in Imperialist Japan, scientific experiments were carried out on live prisoners, leading to their deaths, and all this kind of activity is totally against al moral and ethical norms; too often violent scientific experiments conducted against animals are used, when alternative and nonviolent ways of researching nature's secrets could be, and are being, devised

Jain science has always been interested in the link between purely scientific knowledge and moral and ethical knowledge – Jains had a conception of the atomic nature of reality at a very early age, but it was more akin to Leibniz's ideas of the monad, i.e. atoms are imbued with a kind of primordial intelligence; the Jain conception of pudgala already anticipated the ideas of atomic fusion and atomic fission: "The whole physical universe is thus engaged in endless integration and disintegration (=pud and gala)" as explained in Muni Mahendra Kumar and J.S. Zaveri Micro Cosmology: Atom In Jain Philosophy And Modern Science (Ladnun, 1995) p. 104; but Jains however are interested in the psychic nature of reality as well as the physical, and would seek to move the boundaries of scientific method into transpersonal directions: "Many scientists however, see drastic changes on the horizon. There would have to be some revolutionary paradigm to explain telepathy, psychokinesis and precognition. At least one serious physicist, gerald Finberg of Columbia University, thinks that psychic transmissions may one day be linked to yet undiscovered elementary particles which may be called mindons or psychons. If modern scientific instruments became really successful in defecting such particles, they could be equivalent to the group of matter called manah vargana by Jains" (ibid. P. 183) Modern Western science is very "clever", but if it succeeds in inventing weapons that destroy the world, and misusing its atomic knowledge, it will be shown to be less morally clever than ancient Indian science. American Indians also had a subtle cosmology with great knowledge of reality, both psychical and metaphysical, see Peat, David Blackfoot Physics: A Journey into the Native American Universe (2006) Rudi Jansma, in his work on ecology and philosophy, also argues that Jain theories of evolution involving reincarnation are not incompatible with modern scientific finds on the evolution of life's biological forms: "The theory of the transmigration of the jiva through a variety of bodies in no way contradicts the theory of gradual evolution. It is most probable that a soul which is clothed in a particular vehicle according to its karma produces causes in line with its present state. The next embodiment (on earth) will then be related to the present one, but just a little bit higher, due to the inherent upward drive of the soul, and due to the added experiences. It is however next to unthinkable that great jumps upwards would be made at once, simply because a soul in its present stage is unable to create the cause for a much higher karmic result" see Jansma, Rudi Introduction to Jainism (Jaipur, 2006) p. 99. The crucial point in the Jaipur Declaration is that we insist that science should eschew violence. Unfortunately Adolf Hitler also based his thinking on evolutionary theories, but totally misread and misunderstood them, using them to justify a philosophy of unparalleled violence and genocide, see Weikert, Richard Hitler's Ethic: the Nazi Pursuit of Evolutionary Progress (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009).

This is a crucial vow, since too many scientists misuse their knowledge for dark purposes, including militarism and corporate and military intelligence, we ask instead that scientists should pool their collective intelligence to figure out ways of disposing of our nuclear weapons arsenals, of saving the planet from environmental threats and ecological pollution and find ways to solve the energy crisis in a long term way, since energy shortages and environmental degradation will lead inevitably to more conflict, violence and global destabilisation; by extension, we also ask that scientists get involved in promoting peaceful ways to solve conflict through negotiation, diplomacy, mediation, and join project development. The right to happiness is embedded in the US constitution arising from the enlightenment commitment to ameliorating human suffering, and happiness research is now flourishing in many quarters (see The Happiness Hypothesis: Putting Ancient Wisdom to the Test of Modern Science by Jonathan Haidt) – there is a Happiness Research Institute flourishing in Denmark, a country which often qualifies as the happiest in the world, and the UN held a conference in 2012 which published the world's first ever World Happiness Report which documented a number of global surveys that are being done. In 2011 the UK government also published the first "National Well-being Report." Based on surveying 165.000 UK citizens to inquire into what kinds of things made them feel happier (it wasn't money, but purpose, meaning, a self of self achievement). The existence of cruel civil war going on in our world, broadcasted to the world's media, as in Syria, does not make us feel happier as a planet, but miserable. To ask that science and education should do all they can to end the violence on our planet and to re-invest from militarism into peace development is therefore a key plank of any happiness policy: peace policy makes for happiness policy! In the UK, Action for Happiness, the brainchild of Dr Anthony Selden, a senior educator and Geoff Mulgan, promotes research and positive action for happiness as a social and individual good (see Layard, Richard Happiness: Lessons from a new science, London, Penguin, 2011). Moral intelligence is a key aspect of human intelligence; Howard Gardner, author of a number of works on the theory of multiple intelligences, sees education as attempting to stimulate and advance human intelligence along a number of inter-related fronts – there is not one single thing called "intelligence" as measured by IQ tests, but a range of aptitudes and intelligences, including musical, social, physical, emotional, and spiritual etc. Within this theory, the flourishing of moral intelligence is a key component of what it is to become a truly developed human being. (See Gardner's works in bibliography). Since Aristotle, happiness (eudaimonia) has been recognised as the purpose and goal of philosophy, and as Socrates surmised, true happiness arises from virtue. But this inner tendency to be virtuous gets occluded in some children and adults – why? How can education and science help recover it?

This surely is the whole purpose of knowledge (science) - we are simply calling for scientists and academics to remember their high calling. The Jain tradition also contributed greatly towards the science of mathematics, but again, Jain understanding is that mathematics is not amorally neutral study, but rather reveals the divine proportions and harmonies underlying existence, much as Pythagorean mathematics did, in other words, science has a sacred dimension embedded in its very foundations, see Gelra, Dr Mahaveer Raj Jain Studies and Science (Ladnun, 2007). In the UK, the mathematician Lewis Fry Richardson who developed the equations that underlay weather forecasting, went on to apply mathematical modelling theory to the solution of the problem of war, and his name lives on the Richardson Institute of Peace Studies at Lancaster University (http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/fass/centres/richinst/), see listings under Lewis Fry Richardson in the bibliography

This is crucial – until peace has priority in funding streams over militarism, we will go on with the crazy cyclical logic of militarism (fear, insecurity, violence, fear) locked into a never ending cycle

In the UK, The Campaign against Military Research on Campus (CAMROC) was launched in May 1986 to expose the increase in military research carried out by staff and students in higher education. CAMROC consisted of peace and anti-nuclear groups, concerned individuals and student unions. The campaign also sought more openness about military-related contracts and a transfer of resources to non-military research. Much of the work involved collecting and collating publicly-available information on research contracts, in conjunction with the British Society for Social Responsibility in Science. I was in touch with this group in the early 1990's while working to establish a Peace Studies institute at the University of London. Scientists For Global Responsibility, which is still active in the UK, has also published 3 useful reports on this issue. There are other similar campaign groups elsewhere internationally, but overall, not enough is being done to ensure that our universities and our academic elite institutions do not similar continue on as puppets of the military-industrial complex, but instead, as think tanks for a possible non-violent future for the planet. Military intelligence services worldwide continue to cream off our brightest and best engineers and IT specialists. Where are our Peace Intelligence services? In the UK, one report by Dr Stuart Parkinson, found, using freedom of information requests, "that 17 of the UK's most prestigious universities – including Imperial College London, Cambridge and Oxford – received a total of over £83 million (about €91 million) over the three years up until 2011. The amounts provided to each university varied from £15.2 million for Imperial College London down to £67,000 for Durham University. Six other universities refused to provide data on their military collaborations. One further university – the London School of Economics – claimed that it received no funding at all from military sources during these years." It would good if UNESCO were to commission a global study of the relationship between military research and development on campus – the combined figures would be astronomical

At present, it is very difficult for science graduates to effectively make a career if they are not willing to be involved at some point in military funded research, which controls billions of pounds of expenditure on research contracts in academia worldwide. Scientists for Global Responsibility and other groups have called for an equivalent to the Hippocratic Oath to be taken by all qualifying PhD or DSc. Graduates, not to misuse their knowledge for harm, violence or unethical purposes. This would seem a sensible proposal. It would follow that they would only work on socially and humanly beneficial research work

Modern secularised scientistic consciousness, seeing nature as inert and suitable for resource acquisition and exploitation, is gradually evolving towards a more holistic Gaian consciousness, in which the whole world and universe are recognised as interlocking living systems, in which we humans are called to play our part in loving service and intelligent awareness – destroying our natural environment, so that future generations only inherit a spoiled ecosphere, is something to be avoided at all costs. The work of the Global Green University is one network among others that is trying to raise this awareness among thinkers and students worldwide. A big strand running through the Jaipur conference was the theme of sustainability, and several speakers were focusing on this aspect of the work ahead of us. The Sustainability Laboratory among other similar groups was attending the conference

One Japanese delegate at the conference spoke movingly about the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan, and how the Fukushima region used to be famous for its fruit and vegetables, and the shops in Tokyo used to be full of its produce – but no more. She said many Japanese were extremely worried about the ongoing failure to resolve the Fukushima accident, and that we should all work to stop investment in nuclear energy as the sole means of providing energy as these systems were inherently unstable as Fukushima had shown. While the long-term repercussions of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster are yet to be fully assessed, they are far more serious than those pertaining to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in the Ukraine, which resulted in almost one million deaths, mostly from cancer. It was this accident that inspired Gorbachev to end the cold war. See Matthew Penney and Mark Selden The Severity of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster: Comparing Chernobyl and Fukushima, (Global Research, May 25, 2011). Therefore scientists have got to come together to find an alternative to nuclear power. Although there are such strong vested interests in financing nuclear power, which play into people's fear of energy shortages in the future, nevertheless it must be possible for intelligent and committed people around the world to come together and find alternative energy sources; by working together in war time, the Manhattan project cracked the secret of nuclear power. We need a new Manhattan project to find a safer alternative, which doesn't cause radiation sickness or damage the environment long term. Nuclear energy pollution is a kind of violence done against the environment as also against those who die of radiation related illnesses, as many scientific studies have revealed (see Helen Caldicott, Fukushima: Nuclear Apologists Play Shoot the Messenger on Radiation, (The Age, April 26, 2011), and also Chossudovsky, Michel (Editor)  Fukushima: A Nuclear War without a War, The Unspoken Crisis of Worldwide Nuclear Radiation, 2012) The links between nuclear power research and nuclear weapons research are also another reason to get rid of both of them (see Shimatsu, Yoichi Secret Weapons Program Inside Fukushima Nuclear Plant? Global Research, April 12, 2011)

The whole question of global warming and climate change is implicit in this simple statement. Scientists continue to argue about the exact causes of global climate change, although consensus exists as to the fact that climate is indeed changing and become destabilised, and that increased carbon emission are a major factor in this; see Lomborg, Bjorn The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World (Cambridge University Press, 2001) and Lomborg, Bjorn Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist's Guide to Global Warming. The orthodox scientific view is that carbon emissions are responsible for global warming, and this is the position taken by the intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which is the leading international body for the assessment of climate change. The IPCC was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988 to provide the world with a clear scientific view on the current state of knowledge in climate change and its potential environmental and socio-economic impacts. Also in 1988, the UN General Assembly officially approved the work of UNEP and the WMP in founding the IPCC. It is a huge body with thousands of scientists working on all aspects of climate change, and a large budget. In 2007 it was awarded the Nobel Peace prize along with Al Gore, who has long campaigned to have the link between increased carbon emissions and global warming recognised by policy makers worldwide. Some sceptics point to other possible causal factors, and also wonder whether simply cutting carbon emissions drastically is affordable and realistic and whether other solution s are not possible. In this welter of information and misinformation, it is worth remembering that truth is not about numbers; Gandhi pointed out: "Many examples can be given in which acts of majorities will be found to be wrong and those of minorities to have been right. All reforms owe their origin to the initiative of minorities in opposition to majorities" the Jaipur Declaration therefore, taking Gandhi's wise words to heart, does not take sides in the carbon-emissions causing climate change debates, but instead simply pledges that we should refrain from activities that cause climate destabilisation". The debate is very heated at present, with both sides denigrating the other. Among those sceptical of the hard mono-causal connection between climate change and increasing carbon emissions are Richard Lindzen, MIT atmospheric physicist and many others. To adopt the position of suspension of judgment until conclusive and irrefutable scientific proof of causal connections comes in seems wise, but meanwhile, we can all agree on this wording. And we can also conduct the debate with politeness, courtesy and rigour, and not abuse those with differing views. In the UK the worst weather changes seem to be caused by a rerouting of the Jet Stream further south across the Atlantic. The Meteorological Office has stated in 2014: "The severe weather in the UK coincided with exceptionally cold weather in Canada and the USA. These extreme weather events on both sides of the Atlantic were linked to a persistent pattern of perturbations to the jet stream, over the Pacific Ocean and North America. The major changes in the Pacific jet stream were driven by a persistent pattern of enhanced rainfall over Indonesia and the tropical West Pacific associated with higher than normal ocean temperatures in that region. The North Atlantic jet stream has also been unusually strong; this can be linked to exceptional wind patterns in the stratosphere with a very intense polar vortex. As yet, there is no definitive answer on the possible contribution of climate change to the recent storminess, rainfall amounts and the consequent flooding. This is in part due to the highly variable nature of UK weather and climate. The attribution of these changes to anthropogenic global warming requires climate models of sufficient resolution to capture storms and their associated rainfall. Such models are now becoming available and should be deployed as soon as possible to provide a solid evidence base for future investments in flood and coastal defences." In other words, we are still in a "don't know" situation. Common sense dictates however that we use the precautionary principle when it comes to tinkering around with nature and unleashing potentially devastating climate changers across the planet. Likewise, there are some rumours that some scientists have been deliberately engineering climate changes, through the development of the HAARP programme, which is in full The High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP). This is an ionospheric research program jointly funded by the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy, the University of Alaska, and the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). It is based in Alaska on an air force base and operated from 1993 to 2013, at a cost of some 250 million US Dollars. Its declared purpose is (or was) to "analyze the ionosphere and investigate the potential for developing ionospheric enhancement technology for radio communications and surveillance." There is some controversy over this programme, with some independent researchers claiming it was all along designed to foster deleterious weather changes for military destabilisation purposes, among other things. Since the research is top secret it is not possible to be exact on these points, and again, one has to adopt a stance of epoche, or anekantvada, and syadvada, maybe this, maybe that.. But the declaration is clear – we vow not to be involved in any such research and urge our colleagues to do the same. In the rule of just war developed both by Islamic and Christian theologians and jurists, tampering with the environment (polluting wells, cutting down trees etc.) was deemed off limits – a fair fight, in a fair cause was all that was permitted. So tampering with weather to defeat an enemy is totally out of bounds

Animals are an incredible delight to the planet, and wise in ways we humans are only just beginning to figure out. Shamans and primal peoples worldwide worked hand in hand with animals to evolve to where we are now, and often the deities of ancient religions take animal forms (tiger, monkey, elephant, cats, bear, snake,, peacock, swans, eagles, dogs etc.). Shamans believe that you can learn from different animals their different kinds of wisdom. Yogic postures for meditation are also often based on animals, and in meditation, great seers are often depicted as being accompanied by animals, with Nagarjuna for example, being surmounted by a snake. While sometimes humans have had to eat animals for survival, our ancestors always did so with prayer and thanksgiving; the idea of causing deliberate cruelty to animals however, is something that is inhuman to consider, and really only harms ourselves. It is said of Muhammad that he loved cats so much that he once cut his own cloak rather than disturb the sleeping cat which was on his lap. Solomon is also said to have obtained part of his wisdom from learning from animals. Merlin and the druids of Britain likewise had animals as their spiritual companions. Rather than persecuting animals, we ought to be celebrating life alongside them, and being their custodians and guardians. India of all cultures has kept this knowledge alive in daily life. The world owes a huge debt to India for this alone. Recent studies have shown that animals possess telepathy and the capacity for spoke kind of clairvoyance (see Sheldrake, Rupert Dogs That Know When Their Owners are Coming Home: The Unexplained Powers of Animals by (2000), Linzey, Andrew and Rega, Tom Animals and Christianity: a book of readings (SPCK, 1989) and Kingston, W.G Stories of Animal Sagacity (1874)

This is an important sentence which sums up years of thinking by ecologists, environmentalist and eco-philosophers. For mankind to live in harmony on the planet, learning from nature, exploring the fruits of our scientific intelligence, yet in such a way as not to harm other living things, and not to harm each other, seems a goal worth striving for. See Palmer, Joy Fifty Key Thinkers On The Environment (Routledge, 2001) and Laszlo, Ervin The Creative Cosmos: A Unified Science Of Matter, Life And Mind (Floris Books, 1993) and see the books by Henryk Skolimowski listed in the bibliography, especially Skolimowski, Henryk The Participatory Mind: A New Theory of Knowledge and of the Universe. Penguin/Arkana. 1994. The author taught courses on the links between ecology and spirituality at the University of Oxford and the University of London, and founded the Global Green University to foster debate and dialogue about the complexity of humanity's relationship to the natural world. If all phenomena come from consciousness, as mystical quantum physicists argue, then we should perhaps realise that "nature out there" and "nature in here" are all interconnected. So how we treat the environment and how we treat each other and how we treat ourselves are all inter-related