Seeds, Genes, and Stardust: A Christian Ecofeminist Ethics of the Common Good

This thesis engages constructions of ethics of the common good through a multidimensional framework of feminist ecological ethics, critical feminist theories, and attention to concrete social difference. Because attention to these eco-social relations is nascent or insignificantly addressed, my aim is to contribute to an ethics of the common good by using a liberative Christian ethics methodology to seek universal goods that are held in common by connecting selves/communities as situated in terms of bio/diversity and eco-justice.;To situate the case study in theological terrain, I review a co-creators theological anthropology that arises from the dialogue between theology and science which suggests that humans participate in the ongoing evolution of the world. Because theological doctrines have real consequences for human beings and the earth, I argue that an adequate Christian ecological ethics of the common good must go beyond this notion of co-creator status which is inadequate to the normative reading of the case study.;To connect concrete eco-social common goods and women's lives as morally significant, I draw on feminist social theory and theological ethics to discuss negotiating difference in multiple publics concerned with shaping a shared common good. I critically assess co-creator theological anthropologies, notions of sin as separation from the created order, and redemption as right eco-social relations to find moral norms for resituating human beings as earth creatures within earth community.;Finally, I suggest three basepoints for a revised ecofeminist ethics of the common good -- right relationship, eco-social solidarity and practices of embodied spirituality -- to guide transformative praxis geared towards sustainable ecological practices and relationships of justice and mutuality among diverse people and the earth, God's body.;I construct a case study to analyze the impacts of genetically modified crops on the lives of farmers in Canada and India and to explore ways in which discourses of the common good are used by all parties in the debate on GMOs. I apply five moral norms from Christian traditions of common good ethics to assess the case study and to analyze the role of transnational corporations and international financial institutions in globules economics and politics.