Thomas Berry

and the Great Work

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Home 9 Publications 9 Books 9 The Great Work: Our Way Into the Future
The Great Work: Our Way Into the Future

By Thomas Berry

New York: Harmony/Bell Tower, 1999

One of the most eminent cultural historians of our time presents the culmination of his ideas and calls for us to experience creation as a source of wonder and delight rather than a commodity for our personal use.

Thomas Berry has written and lectured extensively on technological civilization and the need for us to move from being a disrupting force on this earth to a benign presence. This transition is the Great Work of which he speaks. It is at the same time the most necessary and most ennobling work we will ever undertake. Berry’s message is not one of doom but of hope. He calls upon all aspects of society to remember their function, particularly the universities and other educational institutions whose role is to guide students into an appreciation rather than an exploitation of the world around them. Berry is the leading spokesperson for the Earth, and his profound ecological insight at this determining moment in history illuminates the path we need to take in the realms of ethics, politics, economics, and education if both we and the planet are to survive.

Read these essays from The Great Work:

“The Meadow Across the Creek”

“The University”

 

The Great Work is mentioned in this news article:

“When Rivers Are Granted Legal Status as Persons”
By Diane Covington-Carter. Sierra Club. May 9, 2017.

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The Thomas Berry Foundation

The mission of the THOMAS BERRY FOUNDATION is to carry out the Great Work of Thomas in enhancing the flourishing of the Earth community. Created in 1998 by Thomas Berry, Mary Evelyn Tucker, John Grim, Martin Kaplan, and Thomas’ sister, Margaret Berry, the Foundation has promoted Thomas’ ideas. Learn more »

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