MAKING THE CASE FOR THE HUMANITIES’ TAKE ON THE CRUCIAL ISSUE OF ECOLOGICAL CRISIS

Abstract

For a large number of people, the Humanities and the question of environment may sound like an oxymoron. Indeed, a lot of people tend to associate what is environmental with science only. This paper seeks to counterargue this dominant, superficial, and evidently erroneous view. Therefore, not only do we argue for the presence of a logical connection between humanities and the issue of environment, but we also argue for the importance and the value of human sciences in addressing a man-made planetary crisis. In parallel, we consider that scientificity of the approach to the question is not and cannot be the only criterion nor the only requirement for tackling environmental issues. In fact, we believe that it is quite possible to make a case for the role and the efficacy of humanities in this area. In other words, this paper is making the case for the humanities’ take on a crucial issue. However, some people may wonder: How so?! How may the humanities be of utility? Do the humanities have what it takes to solve global environmental problems? Well, this paper answers all of these questions and more. Actually, the current article highlights the generous toolkit of valuable options offered by the classical humanities, the environmental humanities, together with the emergent tracks in humanities, and the way in which those tools may help in facing ecological threats.