Natura, diritto, ecologia: considerazioni alla luce della tradizione cristiana

The intention of the author of this article is a presentation of the social teaching of Pope Francis on the basis of his green encyclical related primarily to human ecology and environmental ecology, forming both in every family and then at school and university by the media and culture. Education in ‘integral ecology’ is intended to be sensitive to the various aspects of ecology and consequently the protection of human and social life against environmental degradation. Education is a long term process and therefore is concerned about an intergenerational ‘Common Home’, so it cannot be ignored by macro and micro structures of economy or ecology. Pope Francis indicates the correlation between ecology and economy, between environmental ecology and the ecology of man (human ecology) and above all, his moral condition. Social and economic systems must remain on guard to ensure that the balance between the biological and the ecosystem has been properly preserved. In the social assessment and analysis, Pope Francis criticises globalisation, neo­‑liberalism as a form of a new colonialism providing false ecology in economy and in a global politics ultimately directed against developing countries and the poor and excluded. Therefore education which begins in the family has to take into account the problems of ecological crisis and the crisis of ecology of man and his moral condition. The social teaching of Pope Francis shows, as never before, the close relationship between economy, ecology and social ethics.

Integral ecology is an increasingly important term in Catholic social teaching. This paper brings this term in relation to business drawing upon the integral relationship between human and natural ecology. Pope Francis and his two predecessors believe that the current ecological conversation can increase our sensitivity to our impact on the natural environment as well as help us to rediscover the moral and spiritual consciousness of human nature and development that has been weakened and disordered in the wider culture. An integral ecology can enlarge our notion of the good, especially the good in business. Without the cultural and environmental insights from an integral ecology that has the capacity to provide deep moral and spiritual roots, business will always be prone to see itself within its own autonomous and utilitarian sphere failing to connect to the natural and human realities in which it is embedded.

The Agenda provided by the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) represent an opportunity to eradicate poverty, preserve the planet, promote peace, and develop a more prosperous society. This global horizon is reinforced by the religious proposal of the Encyclical “Laudato si”, in which Pope Francis reflects on the anthropological, social, and spiritual repercussions of the interaction of human beings with their environmental reality. With the term integral ecology, the Catholic leader proposes processes to put an end of poverty, exclusion, and environmental degradation. This research aims to explore the cornerstones and application of the SDGs and integral ecology in the framework of the Catholic university. The study brings Agenda 2030 into dialogue with the Christian ethical perspective of human development and integral ecology by showing their complementarity. It develops the inclusion of the SDGs and integral ecology objectives in the mission and strategic plan of the Catholic university. For this reason, an action plan is projected in which the values of sustainability are transversally structured in the diverse areas of the university, such as governance, teaching, research, transfer of knowledge and social impact, extracurricular activity, green procurement, infrastructure, energy, waste, water, and mobility.

This paper provides an account of the philosophical foundation of human ecology. While ecology is motivated by theoretical interest, human ecology is motivated by practical interest. The philosophical nature of human ecology is seen in its prudential and ethical concerns, which are intrinsically connected to the practical pursuit of a good life. The themes of human ecology and integral ecology are discussed using the concept ‘ecological spirituality’, mentioned by Pope Francis in his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’. Human ecology as a way of life is understood in terms of ecological spirituality while the dimensions of integral ecology include environmental, economic and social ecology. One of the major concerns of human ecology is the question of sustainability and its relation to consumption and production. On this account, a natural focus of human ecology is in the area of economic ecology. This paper presents an ecological approach to understanding the nature of business, production, work and wealth. A case study of the movement known as the Economy of Communion is provided as an example of a new ecologic paradigm that integrates spirituality with business practices, aims at the common good and promotes social justice in the world.

ABSTRACTLibertarians are not famed as friends of nature – but is that a matter of principle? I examine consequentialist, deontological and teleological versions of left- and right-libertarianism on three dimensions: their concepts of natural law, geo- and biological nature, and human nature – the latter subdivided into what characterizes humans and what distinguishes them from other animals. Both a positive ‘new world’ as opposed a negative ‘old world’ appreciation of wilderness, and a more consistent appreciation of the human subject as imperfect and not all that different from some animals, can, I will argue, give libertarianism an exceptionally green hue.

Pope Francis’s new concept of “integral ecology”(Francis P, Encyclical: Laudato Si′ On Care of Our Common Home. The Holy See, Rome (http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa.francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html), 2015, nos 10, 62 and 137–162) appears to transcend “human ecology (Wackernagel M, Rees W, Notre empreinte ecologique, [Our Ecological Footprint]. Les Editions Ecosocietes, Montreal, 1999, p. 25: “The ecosphere is the place where we live; humanity depends on nature and not the other way around. Sustainability requires that we shift our focus from managing resources to managing ourselves, that is, learning to live as a part of nature. Finally, the economy becomes human ecology.” [Translation by Andrene C. Everson.]),” which has become popular worldwide through its iconic ecological and water “footprints” (Hoekstra A, The Water Footprint of Modern Consumer Society. Routledge, London, 2013). In his call for change and solidarity, the Pope incorporates spirituality as an additional dimension. Practically speaking, his encyclical could have at least two virtues when understood as follows. First, it could raise awareness among political leaders, global citizens and worshippers about the dangerous depletion of invisible water. Second, his remarks about the water’s problem being an educational and cultural issue could more specifically address women’s status with respect to water management in the developing world. These are two crucial matters that I will highlight in this essay. However, speaking to these issues from the standpoint of a moral authority is not enough. There must be justice too, and even more: specific action is required, in accordance with thought no. 298 from Blaise Pascal ’s Pensees: “[…] make what is just strong, or what is strong just” (Pascal B, Pensees. Trans. W. F. Trotter. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1958, p. 85, no. 298). Could Singapore’s success story in water management and economics be, with its unique combination of justice with force, a model answer to Pope Francis’s appeal? That is the question.

The encyclical letter of Papa Francesco on an integral ecology (with its universal, not religious or catholic approach to the theme) includes a very comprehensive "care" of the world. It appears to be of specific interest and relevance for an innovative understanding of the role of the nursing profession, which crosses also frequently the fragile victims of the violations of the "human ecology", and which is called to be among the actors of active promotion of fundamental rights to life.

Laws of nature and natural laws

Review: Political Nature: Environmentalism and Interpretation of Western Thought By John M. Myer Reviewed by Pramod K. Nayar University of Hyderabad, India John M. Meyer. Political Nature: Environmentalism and Interpretation of Western Thought. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2001. 210 pp. 0-262-13390- 3 (cloth); 0-262-63224-1(paperback). US$55.00 cloth; US$22. 95 paperback. John Meyer's Political Nature is essentially a reading of two important Western political thinkers: Aristotle and Thomas Hobbes. Beginning with assumption that our most fundamental concern should be with the ability of our political and social institutions to address environmental problems effectively (pp. 3-4), Meyer delineates two interpretations of naturepolitics relationship. The first, dualist interpretation, is characterized by idea that communities sought to tear themselves away from cycles of by celebrating and elevating qualities believed to be distinctively (p. 5). This approach therefore sees all Western politics as being completely divorced from nature. The dualist interpretation sees a deeprooted duality as endemic to human-nature relationship. Instead, dualists argue, we need to acknowledge inter-connectedness of all life forms. The derivative approach argues for centrality of right. This interpretation sees Western political philosophy as derived from certain conceptions of nature. There have been two influential conceptions of in Western thought. The first, teleological or organic, is Aristotelian with a Christian reinterpretation as forwarded by medieval philosophers. The second, mechanistic or modern conception, is visible from 17th century onward and is result of modern science. Reading Hobbes and Aristotle's texts in an extraordinarily rich interpretive act, Meyer argues that both thinkers present several common features. Hobbesian thought was caught in dilemma between state of and artifice. On one hand Hobbes opposed any artifice (intervention) in changing or human nature. Yet, he also argued that it is lack in that artifice tries to fill. Hobbes' conception of argues that man has no natural ends, while simultaneously suggesting that end of all politics is peace. Meyer points out that Hobbes' provide a constraint that would prevent sovereign (understood as an artificial structure) from ordering or organizing human ends even though they are not so 'naturally (pp. 84-5). In Aristotle's teleological view polis is fulfillment of potential within human nature. Human itself is manifestation of a more general and this makes Aristotle's polis entirely natural. Yet Aristotle also suggests that any particular regime is a form of artifice, hence lacking a natural telos. Aristotle's conception of nature, Meyer points out, pays attention to particularities of in formulation of ideas/opinions/politics about of political regime, economic relationships, household arrangements, and educational forms within polis. Meyer suggests that this is a remarkable move in Aristotle (and Meyer builds on this idea in his concluding remarks). Here nature and human provide inescapable context within which discussions about boundaries between different realms of practice take place (p. 118). The derivative and dualist interpretations of these thinkers offers following lessons: Nature can offer us a principle in form of a conception of natural law, and all politics must be derived from such a conception of nature. Both thinkers end up suggesting a subject role for since politics is master science (Aristotle) and Hobbesian ruler is interpreter-ruler of all realms. However, as Meyer demonstrates, both thinkers suggest that political authority cannot be fully derived from a natural order. …

Natural relativism in lieu of moral absolutism

Journal Article Dworkin on the Semantics of Legal and Political Concepts Get access Dennis M. Patterson Dennis M. Patterson Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, Volume 26, Issue 3, Autumn 2006, Pages 545–557, https://doi.org/10.1093/ojls/gql017 Published: 01 October 2006

This article discusses the reorientation of environmental protection in Amazonia away from the paradigm of individual and collective natural resource management of regional or global commons, to the more radical thesis of Integral Ecology as the vindication of human dignity, environmental stewardship and collective responsibility – a concept deeply related to the Church’s own pioneering of Integral Human Development as the ‘authentic development of every person and of the whole person’. 2 Under the concept of Integral Ecology, we argue that this expressive elaboration of the Catholic Church’s core social teaching of Integral Human Development ultimately hearkens more closely to the broad definition of the Right to Development in the Draft UN Convention on the Right to Development, which recognises development ‘that is consistent with, and based on, all other human rights and fundamental freedoms’. 3 As seen in the Final Document of the Amazon Synod, 4 Integral Ecology does not put forward an anthropocentric vision of environmental protection that seeks mainly to balance human extractive and consumption needs with environmental preservation objectives, but rather reinforces the shared identity of the Earth and its inhabitants, and our collective human responsibility to care for ‘our common home’. 5 Nowhere is this unique relationship and interconnectedness of the Right to Development, Integral Human Development, and Integral Ecology more vividly illustrated than in the interdependence of the peoples and the natural environment of the Amazon.

Em outubro de 2019, após a intensidade e o alcance dos incêndios que atingiram a floresta amazônica, bispos da Igreja Católica Romana, lideranças indígenas e peritos se reuniram para discutir a situação vulnerável dos povos e da biodiversidade da região. O Documento Final do Sínodo Amazônico reconheceu a crise ambiental como um desafio geracional com consequências sociais e econômicas e fez um apelo à sociedade para que busque formas de vida mais modestas e respeitosas da natureza, convocando todos para uma profunda “conversão ecológica”. A noção de “ecologia integral” que inspira essa conversão, é apresentada, na encíclica Laudato Si’, como paradigma relacional e como um processo capaz de estabelecer pontes entre o cuidado com o território e o desenvolvimento. A proteção dos povos indígenas e seus territórios é considerada exigência ética fundamental e imperativo moral coerente com o enfoque da “ecologia integral”. Com o intuito de contribuir para o debate em torno da noção de “ecologia integral”, propomos nesse artigo uma análise dos documentos produzidos pelo Sínodo da Amazônia e dos documentos produzidos pela Organização das Nações Unidas sobre a relação dos povos indígenas com a terra. Veremos que a compreensão dessa relação é fundamental para o reconhecimento do papel vital que os povos indígenas desempenham na luta contra as alterações climáticas e que a preservação dos territórios indígenas constitui a melhor forma de salvar a Amazônia e evitar a destruição da floresta.

This paper argues for the need to rethink lithium mining and, more broadly, for the so-called sustainable development policies grounded upon it, especially in Chile. Based on perspectives from integral ecology and Pope Francis’ critique of the technocratic paradigm, this paper questions the ways in which lithium mining is currently done, taking into account its disregard for the environment and Indigenous people’s ancestral rights. After explaining the current and future tendencies of lithium mining and their environmental impact, the paper deepens our understanding of integral ecology, particularly through its critique of the technocratic paradigm, which Pope Francis identifies as the root cause of the current socio-environmental crisis. It also argues that the leadership of the Catholic church takes a proactive stance by understanding and enriching integral ecology with Indigenous wisdom. Such efforts could build a common project to protect the environment with dwellers of the land where lithium mining takes place. Though cooperation is needed to drive lithium mining firms to pursue environmentally friendly practices, collaboration between these groups remains scarce at the grassroots level.

This chapter demonstrates that most of the American Romantics who created the United States' first national literature, including Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne, were the products of an educational system dominated by the study of Latin. It shows that their intense training in the Latin authors was often supplemented by tours of Roman sites in Italy that profoundly affected them and reinforced their support for the classical education of future generations. It reveals how the Romans influenced the Romantics' conception of nature, mythology, and natural law. Finally, it demonstrates that the Romantics were so steeped in the Roman classics that they were generally unable to distinguish the Greek heritage from Roman adaptations of it. Thus, it shows that both the traditional interpretation of Romanticism as anticlassical, and the more recent revision that depicts Romantic classicism as almost exclusively Greek, require significant modification.