Abstract

According to the authors of the new cosmology, the universe is the product of a continuously evolving sequence of irreversible transformations which have produced an increasingly differentiated, complex and interrelated cosmos. Some of these cosmologists also contend that the universe has had a psychic-spiritual dimension from its beginning fifteen billion years ago, not just a physical-material manifestation. Thomas Berry subscribes to this position. He employs this version of the new cosmology to address the ecological crisis facing humanity and to formulate alternatives to two primary causes of that crisis---a belief that the human is separate from the rest of the planetary community and that the non-human world lacks a sacred or spiritual dimension. ;This thesis argues that adopting such a cosmological perspective prompts a revision of our understanding of spirituality. It permits a new awareness of holistic health which integrates us into cosmogenic processes. Furthermore, it informs a perception of the spiritual dimension of human health which recognizes the consequences of living in a universe enabled and guided by divine immanence. Accordingly, it ultimately addresses issues of the ecological crisis and the relationship between human and ecosystem health, and considers how our understanding of suffering and death might evolve when contextualized within a universe defined by cosmogenesis