Humans and the Natural World Article 4
 

Environmental ethics is concerned with why and how we should value nature. Some promote an anthropocentric view that we should value nature solely because of its benefits to us humans. Others adopt a view based on the belief that nature itself has intrinsic value.  

Having intrinsic value means that the thing being valued, in this case, nature itself is worthy of receiving moral consideration regardless of its use to us. Nature provides us with resources and means to improve our well-being. Therefore, we must acknowledge and adopt the view based on the idea that nature is intrinsically valuable for the sustainability of humanity.

Our civilisations all too often work on the premise, a nonsensical premise, that the Earth is ours to exploit, and that material possessions are markers of achievement. Such blindness has long-term consequences for the survival of humanity.  For indigenous peoples there is nothing self-evident about the notion that ‘the Earth is ours to exploit. Indigenous groups got to know the workings of the natural environments and thus sustained themselves for some 200,000 years, and doing so often despite harsh conditions.

Rebuilding our connections with the natural world does not mean abandoning the many achievements of our civilisation. Some of our technological innovations can help us treat the symptoms of the present environmental multi-crisis. However, addressing the causes means abandoning many of the assumptions on which a large number of our current societies are built. That is infinite growth, the objectification of the natural environment and speciesism.  

Changing the collective mind-set of civilisations calls for a shift in values, it means educating our children about humility and connectedness, rather than vanity and individuality. It means political organising, generating demand for politics that goes beyond the nation-state, as well as beyond the lifespan of the currently living generations.

For Charles Darwin, spirituality and philosophy, along with the well-being of others was a powerful evolutionary driving force pointing to the way we must follow so as to bring about a better world for all.

The problem with much of the public narrative concerning the climate crisis is that it tends to focus on the symptoms, and not the causes of environmental damage. Even if the technologies on which we pin our hopes for the future deliver as expected, and do not lead to much collateral damage – both of which are huge assumptions – they will not have fixed our mind sets in relation to our place in the world.

Thomas Hobbes, in his book Leviathan (1651), described the natural state of mankind as being constantly at war and "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." Anthropological research indicates this is far from being the truth. Hobbes contention was that systems of strong governance countered this negative view of the nature of humans, and gave rise to culture, learning and arts. This however is not a true reflection of the nature of our ancient ancestors the Hunter-Gatherers.

We must weave together indigenous and modern world views acknowledging human dignity and the dignity of the natural world that sustains us. Indigenous people understanding can be the source of a worldview and cosmology that can provide powerful guidance and teachings for achieving our goal of a thriving, just and sustainable world. People’s actions often depend on how they see the world, or the stories they have been told, and tell themselves about the world. Transforming the way that people see and relate to the world, and the possibilities they see for the future can be a powerful way to effect positive social change.

There are unexamined assumptions that affect all too many peoples’ world view. Of all the assumptions there is one primary assumption and that is that we are somehow separate from the natural world. This assumption shapes virtually all of our perceptions and actions. For centuries the story has been that the world operates like a machine, made up of separate parts like a clock. For the past 400 years, the scientific tradition has been trying to take the clock apart and figure out how it works so we can use it for our own purposes. We must move beyond such an understanding.

Many people want somehow to be connected with the Living Earth and see themselves as relevant, and to participant in various environmental events around them. That’s precisely who we are just by being alive. The questions: Who are we? What are we about? Are we aware, of what is happening in the world? Are we aware of the risk of human extinction, or of the possibility of bringing about a world that is fair and just, spiritually fulfilling and sustainable?

There is still just enough time for humanity to wake up to the realization that we have the creativity to make it through the present environmental and ecological crisis. Maybe, for the first time in recorded history humanity wakes up to the fact that its present actions are endangering the Living Earth rather than being a planetary species opening its collective eyes toward a universe filled with immeasurable dimensions, and possibilities.

Viruses and disease are environmental issues and a stark reminder of our vulnerability. Although we have been to the moon, created the internet, discovered numerous medical cures etc., we are still bound by the laws of the natural world, and not exempt from these laws. We have to rethink the idea that becoming disillusioned with the natural world as we grow up is an automatic process. It’s not. Until recently, many of us had not realised the negative effect that our disconnection from the environment was having on the Living Earth.

We must use what we have experienced, what we have learned and channel that into a determined effort to challenge political apathy and drive political will by questioning the very fundamentals of how our governments are approaching and dealing with the climate and environmental crisis. Most people love the natural world. Yet we are bringing about a vulnerable and fragile Living Earth, and as we do so we become ever more vulnerable and fragile. Humanity’s present war against nature is a war against our selves. We cannot simply continue with business as usual.