The Ethics of Sustainable Communication: Overcoming the World of Opposites

A well-functioning communication is a prerequisite for achieving sustainability. But how could this be accomplished in a world plagued by grave sustainability crises, where polarization proliferates and adds to a profound experience of fear and separation? To answer this critical question, an integrated ethical system that acknowledges all life as one is needed.

The Ethics of Sustainable Communication elegantly interweaves theoretical and empirical knowledge from the social sciences with wisdom traditions from various parts of the world. This includes the world’s great religions, the knowledge of indigenous peoples, and the transcendent understanding of reality that artists of diverse kinds have always expressed. On this solid ground, the book argues for the necessity of a significant shift in human consciousness to achieve lasting sustainability.

The book develops a communication ethics that aims at facilitating a genuine experience of the interconnectedness of all life through the expansion of trust. In a pioneering, intelligent, and eye-opening argument, including practical examples and advice, it demonstrates how the experience of separation in fact is a delusion. Our systems of thought and language have simply fettered us in a world of opposites - duality. The ethics helps us to overcome this illusory
world, and when duality is dissolved, deep sustainability - caring for people, the Earth, and every lifeform - comes as an entirely effortless result.

Ulrika Olausson, PhD, has a background as professor of media and communication studies. Olausson, who is an internationally renowned scholar, affiliated to Jönköping University in Sweden, has published extensively about sustainability communication. She is also an independent author and speaker and a trained yogini.