Mindful capability

Abstract

The capability approach stands among the major development paradigms in the first decades of the 21st century. But the century's challenge is shifting from development as capability expansion to sustainable development. What conception of capability befits sustainable development? The paper sketches contours for a conception of sustainable capability development adequate for the challenges of our time. This integrative framework combines the Buddhist philosophy of non-self and an emerging primal episteme that decentres humanity's place in the ecosphere to form mindful capabilities. These capabilities limit the space of functioning on Buddhist principles of wisdom, virtues, and meditation as well as a non-anthropocentric conception of humanity's place in the ecosphere. © 2015 Elsevier B.V.