HUMANISM AND ENVIRONMENTALISM: A DIALOGUE

Rotimi Omosulu, Terzungwe Inja

Abstract


Humanism as a mode of thought is traceable to the ancient era. Amongst other things, it is characterised by a kind of human-centeredness (homocentrism). Especially in its modern conception, it is an emphasis on the worth of human experiences as the benchmark for decision making; and that holds that humans should take responsibility for their actions without recourse to supernaturalism, ideology, or religion. This way of thinking has influenced a wide range of human activities including perceptions about man, his place within the natural world, and how he interacts with it. Employing the evaluative method, this paper appraised the link between, as well as the influence, of humanism on environmentalism. Particularly, since the former is generally viewed as being anthropocentric and thus anti-environment; the paper sought to verify this claim. It was found that, in spite of its controversial status, humanism has certain pro-nature elements that have positively driven the cause of environmentalism. Thus, the nexus between humanism and the environment is complementary and not totally antithetical as generally perceived. Keywords: Humanism, Homocentrism, Environment, Environmentalism, Nature

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