Human Development and the Catholic Social Tradition: Towards an Integral Ecology (Routledge Research in Religion and Development)

This book brings development theory and practice into dialogue with a religious tradition in order to construct a new, transdisciplinary vision of development with integral ecology at its heart. It focuses on the Catholic social tradition and its conception of integral human development, on the one hand, and on the works of economist and philosopher Amartya Sen which underpin the human development approach, on the other. The book discusses how these two perspectives can mutually enrich each other around three areas: their views on the concept and meaning of development and progress; their understanding of what it is to be human – that is, their anthropological vision; and their analysis of transformational pathways for addressing social and environmental degradation. It also examines how both human development and the Catholic social tradition can function as complementary analytical lenses and mobilizing frames for embarking on the journey of structural and personal transformation to bring all life systems, human and non-human, back into balance. This book is written for researchers and students in development studies, theology, and religious studies, as well as professional audiences in development organizations. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series 3 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Acknowledgements 8 List of abbreviations 10 Introduction 12 1 The concept of development 22 Sen’s capability approach to development 22 The kinds of lives that people live 23 An open-ended framework for evaluation 26 Attention to human suffering and to the marginalized 29 Integral human development 32 The kinds of lives that people live: integrating the spiritual 34 Attention to suffering and marginalization: integrating the earth 37 Broadening the evaluation of states of affairs: integrating oneself 40 Concluding remarks 41 2 Anthropological visions 54 The anthropological vision of Sen’s conception of development 55 Each individual person, in relationships, as an end 55 Speaking, listening, empathy, and reasoning 59 Open-ended anthropological vision 61 The anthropological vision of the Catholic social tradition 63 Each individual person, in relation with others and the earth, as an end 63 Listening, empathy, and reasoning, earth and gift 68 Concluding remarks 71 3 Transformational pathways 80 Transformational pathways in Sen’s conception of development 81 Public action: listening, organizing, and solidarity 81 Public reasoning and power 86 Transformational pathways in the Catholic social tradition 89 Public action: charity, social love, and accompaniment 89 Public reasoning: encounter, self-examination, and transformation 97 Concluding remarks 99 Conclusion 108 Index 117 "This book brings development theory and practice into dialogue with the religious tradition, in order to construct a new, trans-disciplinary vision of development, with integral ecology at its heart. It focuses on the Catholic social tradition and its conception of integral human development on the one hand, and on the works of economist and philosopher Amartya Sen which underpin the human development approach on the other. The book discusses how these two perspectives can mutually enrich other around three areas: their views on the concept and meaning of development and progress; their understanding of what it is to be human, that is, their anthropological vision; and their analysis of transformational pathways for addressing social and environmental degradation. The book examines how both human development and the Catholic social tradition can function as complementary analytical lenses and mobilizing frames for embarking on the journey of structural and personal transformation to bring all life systems, human and non-human, back into balance. This book is written for researchers and students in development studies, theology, and religious studies, as well as professional audiences in development organisations"-- Provided by publisher Dans la maison où il est né, au Maroc, le père a sa chambre, le frère aîné la sienne. Lui dort avec sa mère et ses soeurs. Cocon familial chaleureux et sensuel. Les enfants savent tout des amours de leurs parents. Mais, par pudeur, on n'en parle pas. Il est adolescent lorsque son grand frère l'emmène à Tanger. Premier voyage qui lui révèle la vraie nature de ses désirs. Il se prend de passion pour cet aîné qu'il vénère et qui, tombant amoureux d'une femme, l'abandonne à son désespoir. Il a vingt ans. Il débarque à Genève pour poursuivre ses brillantes études. Il a tant rêvé d'Europe, de livres, de cinéma, de liberté! C'est la solitude qu'il découvre, loin des siens. Il est séduisant, il en joue. Dès lors, comment échapper à l'image d'objet sexuel que lui renvoient les hommes qu'il rencontre, y compris ceux qui veulent son bien?Abdellah Taïa a écrit l'itinéraire d'un enfant de notre siècle, en recherche d'équilibre entre la tradition marocaine et la culture occidentale, entre le désarroi et l'ambition de réussir. Il brave les hypocrisies, à la fois cru et délicat, naïf et malin, drôle et émouvant