Page 13 - Annales EH 1998-2018

Humanist ecology (environmental Humanism)

Supported on the philosophy of evolution, this international emerging current expresses since 1970s an
evolutive humanism extending the naturalist tradition of the ancient Greek philosophers. Humanist
ecology encourages to understand better and to situate the place and the destiny of the humanity in its
environment in permanent evolution. Human destiny is put in perspective in a universal context where
many things remain to be understood. Because it encourages every human being in a self-
responsibilisation in front of his conscience, humanist ecology can be defined too as a will of ethical
responsibility of the civilized humanity, favouring its permanent improvement and its happiness, in
useful interaction with its evolutive environment, in a beneficial way as much for the human being
particularly as for the mankind in general, in common symbiosis in their local and global biotope in
evolution. That leads to optimize the human society in its own interactions and in its interactions with
its biotope, notably by preserving the planetary equilibrium of the Earth. This necessary solidarity of
the whole mankind to preserve its environment and its best development in this environment, inspired
a particular political expression of humanist ecology, taken up notably by Statemen such as Jacques
Chirac (France) or Mohammed VI (Morocco) in the main meetings of the UNO.

Evolution and its relativisation

Humanist ecology wants to favour the permanent adaptation and the best possible development of the
humanity, and of the human being, in an uncertain universal environment in permanent evolution, with
a mind opened enough to consider all the possibles. In humanist ecological comprehension, it is vain
to want to freeze in arbitrary cultural schemata and choices the apparent equilibrium and the supposed
future of one moment of evolution. A permanent evolutive adaptation is necessary, as much
biologically as for thought. That requires a big relativity and a big caution in the analysis. According
to this conception, for human mind, any representation belongs to the domain of belief, considering
the uncertainty of the relation of the Man to the universe, and of the natural imperfection of his senses
to represent his environment and his interactions with this environment, the reality perceived by the
Man being only one representation of the reality, particular in mankind. Humanist ecology admits this
relativized relation with the belief but refutes any final and locking form, reductionist, knowing that no
truth can be final for human mind without upsetting its natural evolutive necessity. This school of
thought accepts the fact to believe in the present for want of anything better, but by taking care to
verify and to update permanently what is believed.

Bibliography

• Emmanuel MOUNIER, Manifest for personalism, Seuil, Paris, 1936.
• René DUBOS, The dreams of the reason, Denoël, Paris, 1964
• Jacques MONOD, Chance and necessity, Seuil, Paris, 1970.
• René DUBOS, Choosing to be human, Denoël, Paris, 1974
• Richard DAWKINS, The selfish gene, Odile Jacob, Paris, 1976.
• Marc CARL, Speech on humanist ecology, LEAI, Paris, 1997-2002.
• Stephen Jay GOULD, The structure of evolutionary theory, Belknap, 2002