The many problems we face in today's world -- among them war, environmental destruction, religious and racial intolerance, and inappropriate technologies -- demand that we carefully re-evaluate such issues as our relation to the environment, the nature of progress, ultimate purposes, and human values. These are all issues, Robert Carter explains, that are intimately linked to our perception of life's meaning. While many books discuss life's meaning either analytically or prescriptively, Carter addresses values and ways of meaningful living from a broader perspective, using Japanese philosophy to augment his investigation. He examines Martin Heidegger's distinction between "dwelling" and existing in the world, Lawrence Kohlberg's "stage seven" of human moral development, and the works of Viktor Frankl, Carol Gilligan, and Nel Noddings. He applies hermeneutic and deconstructionist theory to the question of meaning, and explores the feminist contribution to ethics and its relation to the interconnectedness of things celebrated in Zen and Shinto thought. Bridging various dichotomies such as East/West, reason/emotion, male/female, and caring/justice, Carter shows that ethics, environmental concern, caring, and joy in living are dependent on the growth and transformation of the self. Only by becoming aware of the interrelatedness of things, Carter reveals, can we become as supple and as strong as the bamboo tree, long the symbol of longevity and constancy.

Robert E. Carter's profile page

"We are in a period of history in which a dialogue between East and West can no longer be considered a luxury. Survival in the twenty-first century may well depend on it. Becoming Bamboo comprises a masterful accomplishment of such a dialogue, marking out a path toward a transcultural understanding that turns on commonalities of caring for the earth as the dwelling place of mortal humankind." Calvin O. Schrag, George Ade Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Purdue University. "Becoming Bamboo is about what is surely the most important and timely of all topics on the contemporary agenda; how human values, and particularly Western human values, are to be modified if we are to lead more intrinsically satisfying lives or avoid global catastrophe in the not-too-distant future ... The style is lucid, readable, unpretentious, and free of jargon." Hugo Meynell, Department of Religious Studies, University of Calgary. "Becoming Bamboo is a truly graceful book! This is the only one-sentence characteristic I find pertinent, and it is characterization I rarely use. The description [Carter gives] of various points of view are to the point and they stress the positive aspects of those views. I find that exceptionally well done. It is an important book which will hopefully influence many and give them joy." Arne Naess, Centre of Development and the Environment, University of Oslo. "Artfully merging Japanese anecdote with Western ecophilosophy, Carter's book is concerned with expressing the inexpressible and describing what cannot be named: Becoming Bamboo is the goal. What begins as a paradoxical Zen answer becomes a practical path for expanding our selves out into the rustling flow of nature." David Rothenberg, editor and translator (with Arne Naess) of Ecology, Community, and Lifestyle. "Becoming Bamboo is exceptionally well written, well organized, and at times poetic. The way Carter connects questions of meaning to concrete examples and a wide range of literature, including deep ecology and feminism, helps to widen the appeal and scope of the book ... This is one of the best books on this subject it has been my pleasure to read." Alan R. Drengson, Department of Philosophy, University of Victoria.