The Harmony Debates

The word Harmony appears in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development no less than three times, yet with no definition. This anthology gathers together an interdisciplinary array of experts, academics and practitioners to explore what Harmony means and how we can use it.

One traditional view of Harmony holds that everything in the universe operates in a state of balance, another assumes the interconnectedness of all things - an idea central to ecological thought. Such thoughts also lead to action and policy decisions: for example, how do we conduct business, educate children, conduct business, protect the environment, resolve conflict and promote health and well-being in a world in which all things are fundamentally connected?

The chapters in this volume explore Harmony from a range of perspectives, historical and philosophical, academic and personal. Rather than suggesting fixed answers, the goal is to ask questions about how we relate to each other, engage with the wider environment, face the challenges of the modern world, and work towards holistic solutions for today's problems.

Foreword, HRH The Prince of Wales

Introduction, Nicholas Campion

Towards a Definition of Harmony in Music and Agriculture: An Open Letter to HRH The Prince of Wales, John Eliot Gardiner

Principles of Harmony, David Cadman

Dance and Harmony, Wendy Buonaventura

What is the Meaning and Role of Harmony in Sculpture?, Sophie Howard

The Concept of Harmony: a Literature Review, Toto Gill

Difference, Beauty and the Divine, Angus Slater

The Harmony of the Cosmos, the Soul, and Society in Plato, Joseph Milne

The Connected Cosmos: Harmony, Cosmology and Theurgy in Neoplatonism, Crystal Addey

The Concept of Harmony in Judaism, David Rubin

The Bible: A Guidebook for Harmony?, Rhodri Thomas

Harmony in Islamic Cosmology, M.A. Rashed

The Perennial Philosophy and the Recovery of a Theophanic View of Nature, Jeremy Naydler

Harmony and Ecology, Jack Hunter

Nature's Fragile Harmonies, Stephan Harding

Harmony, Science and Spirituality, Rupert Sheldrake

Harmony, Science and Spirituality, Marc Andrus

The Music of the Spheres: Marsilio Ficino and Renaissance Harmonia, Angela Voss

Harmony and a Phenomenology of Liquid Skies, Ilaria Cristofaro

Peace from the Perspectives of Harmony, Scherto Gill

Rethinking Women and Leadership in Myanmar, Sneha Roy

Harmony, Nostalgia and a Sense of Place, Louise Emanuel

Harmony of Place: An Ecological Community in Post-apartheid South Africa, Eve Annecke

Learning by Heart: Harmony and my Journey as a Pythagorean, Kayleen Asbo

Harmony, Cosmos, Ecology and Politics, Nicholas Campion

Finding Sea Level: The concept of harmony in the culture of the Kággaba (Kogi) people of Colombia, Alan Ereira

Harmonising the Land and Sky in Aboriginal Dreamings, Trevor Leaman

The Farm as an Ecosystem, Helen Browning

The Permaculture path to Harmony, Angie Polkey

Harmony and the Food System, Gunhild A. Stordalen

Mind the Gap! Exploring the Gap between Harmony and the Watery Materiality of Climate Change(s) in Rural Kenya, Luci Attala

Harmony and the Climate Crisis, John Sauven

Reflections upon Education for Sustainability: Supporting Students' Knowledge, Understanding and Practice, Caroline Lohmann-

Hancock and Nichola Welton

Early Years Education, Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship and the Principles of Harmony, Glenda

Tinney

Harmony in Education: Applying the Principles of Natural Systems to Learning, Richard Dunne and Emilie Martin

An Investigation into Well-Being in Wales, Tania Davies

Harmony and Societal Challenges: Empowering Communities, Rachel Parker

From Despair to Hope: Building Harmony in a Challenged Community, Mike Durke

Harmony and Natural Capital, Tony Juniper

Rediscovering the Human Purposes of Business, Mark Goyder

The Circular Economy, Dame Ellen MacArthur

Implementing Harmony: Wellness Tourism, Leo Downer

A Reflection on Harmony, Patrick Holden