Authoritarianism grows through successful wedge-making strategies that use rhetoric, policies, legal systems, the press and social media, and our embrace of ignorance to keep humans believing we are separate entities, should continuing acting as separate entities, and should even use violence to maintain separateness when integration, interconnection, interdependence, and other forms of togetherness powerfully coalesce. How might we deepen our commitments to various forms of togetherness for a more nurturing world?
In this course, we will explore philosophies, ethics, and practices steeped in various forms of Buddhism and other world religions and spiritualities. We will draw on knowledge from other disciplines to understand suffering, broaden our capacities for relating to ourselves and others nonviolently, cultivate compassion and compassionate action, understand ourselves and our ethical commitments to being community members, understand our place in the cosmos, examine the interreligious theology of Martin Luther King, Jr., and improve our practices in reconciliation.