Learning Area

Animal Advocacy & Biodiversity

Do you have compassion for animals and a passion for animal ethics? Are you concerned about the annual slaughter of billions of animals and the unacceptable conditions of animal agriculture worldwide? Does biodiversity loss and the future threat of more zoonotic pandemics such as Covid-19 trouble you? Arihanta Institute's courses in Animal Advocacy and Biodiversity put Jain principles into dialogue with fields including animal studies, animal ethics, and food studies to provide students with the tools to confront these immense challenges as well as to transform students into well-educated animal advocates. Ahiṃsā, or non-violence toward all living beings, and karuṇa, or compassion, have long been the cornerstones of Jain doctrine. Spiritual leaders in the tradition have expounded ahiṃsā generation after generation, from Neminātha who released thousands of animals to save them from slaughter for his own wedding feast, to Mahāvīra who, while meditating with his eyes open in the forest before enlightenment, saw that everything in nature around him was full of life and did not want to be injured. From these insights, which presuppose that all living beings belong to an interdependent web of life and are therefore mutually interdependent (parasparopagraho jīvānām), Jains have long maintained a commitment to vegetarianism. Further, in light of the violence in all animal agriculture today, many are now transitioning to veganism – a diet and way of life embraced even by top athletes all around the world – and inspiring others to do so as well. In light of these and other Jain principles and practices concerned with animal welfare, the violence unleashed on animals’ bodies today is almost unimaginable. Various forms of denial, cognitive dissonance, and ignorance perpetuate ongoing human consumption of animals (and their byproducts) even though these animals are routinely tortured, killed, and dismembered against their will and without consent. Alongside and in conjunction with animal agriculture, humans are witnessing and dramatically contributing to biodiversity loss in what scientists have referred to as the “sixth mass extinction”. Ecological systems and the precious forms of life that have evolved on earth for millions of years are now disappearing due to human greed. Studying the Jain way of life inspires not only a commitment to non-violence and compassion, but also invites us to explore destructive passions like the greed and pride that cause us to routinely inflict pain on other living beings. If animal advocacy and biodiversity loss are important issues for you, you will find expert instruction in Jain studies and allied fields of inquiry at Arihanta Institute that will inspire you to become actively engaged in the pursuit of justice and preservation for all forms of sentient life.

Courses in Animal Advocacy & Biodiversity

Self-paced
Self-paced

111 | Animal-Centered Design

$99.00 USD
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111 | Animal-Centered Design

Non-human animals are routinely used for profit or product, and as a result, suffer greatly in our society. Animal sanctuaries provide a glimpse of a different world; one in which animals are provided with protected spaces and treated as equals. A new initiative is taking shape that can aid sanctuaries, and individuals, in their goal of bettering animals' lives: Animal-Centered Design (ACD). In this course you will learn the basic principles of ACD, study examples of it in action within sanctuary settings, and consider how ACD can be applied to companion animals and beyond. This course will also touch on passive solar design, focusing on how proper orientation to the natural elements can benefit both animals and our environment. Readings and assignments are provided throughout the course to engage you directly in the animal sanctuary design process and to inspire you to make a positive change for animals.A portion of the proceeds for this course support Piedmont Farm Animal Refuge.Learning Objectives: Class 1: Introduction to Farmed Animal SanctuariesClass 2: Principles of Animal-Centered DesignClass 3: Precedents in Animal-Centered DesignClass 4: Case Study I-Designing Spaces for GoatsClass 5: Case Study II-Designing Spaces for DucksClass 6: Animal-Centered Design for Companion AnimalsClass 7: Passive Solar Design Strategies for Animal Spaces
$99.00 USD

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Self-paced
Self-paced

1015 | Debunking the Myth of Sustainable and Humane Animal Agriculture

$25.00 USD
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1015 | Debunking the Myth of Sustainable and Humane Animal Agriculture

In this course, we will focus on the “greenwashing” and “humanewashing” by animal agriculture. “Greenwashing” is based on the different ways that animal agriculture pretends it is sustainable when it is not; “humanewashing” refers to the different ways that animal agriculture pretends it treats animals well, when it does not. In reality, animal agriculture is one of the single largest drivers of climate change and one of the most cruel industries imaginable; however, much like the tobacco industry and the fossil fuel industries before it, animal agriculture has responded to this reality not by enacting any substantive changes, but by relying on “tricks” of communication, including public relations, media relations, marketing, and even attempts to influence scholarship on the topic to confuse the public and hide their destructive practices. In this course, we will debunk these rhetorical tricks and expose the reality of the harms animal agriculture is causing to both animals and our planet. This course should be of benefit to any activist, policy maker, or person concerned about climate change, environmental destruction, or animal suffering. Course Details6 hours of recorded video contentWeekly readings for self-studyAccess to class materials begins Monday, August 5, 20244 scheduled Live Q&A sessions with Professor Stanescu on August 9, 16, 23, and 30 from 9AM to 10AM Pacific + Bonus Session Sept. 6!
$25.00 USD

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1017 | Beasts & Beliefs: Animals and the Origins of Vegetarianism in the Ancient West

$25.00 USD
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1017 | Beasts & Beliefs: Animals and the Origins of Vegetarianism in the Ancient West

While the study of certain aspects of the ancient world may derive from mere intellectual curiosity, the study of other aspects is absolutely essential for our understanding of current social, political, and environmental circumstances. The latter dynamic is certainly the case with the history of ancient ideas about “the human” and “the animal.” These ideas, taken up and developed over centuries by Christian theologians and humanist philosophers, have shaped the radically anthropocentric worldview of Western nations. Most Europeans and North Americans are simply unconcerned with how we torture and kill billions of animals each year. They live, without knowing it, in a mental universe constructed by a handful of Greek and Roman philosophers. To escape this universe, it is useful and perhaps even necessary to know what Chrysippus, Epicurus, Cicero, or Saint Augustine said about animals and humans’ interactions with them. The objective of this course is to study—alongside the many pleas of the vegetarian philosophers of antiquity—the incomplete but triumphant responses of their carnist adversaries.  Course Details6 hours of recorded video contentWeekly readings for self-study4 scheduled, 60-minute Live Q&A sessions with Professor Larue on November 22 and 29, December 6 and 13 from 9AM to 10AM PacificCourse Materials will be available beginning Monday, November 18, 2024
Live 4-week Course: Nov. 18 - Dec. 13, 2024
$25.00 USD

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