The Human Person in the

Environment
Lesson Objectives:
Probe into the distinct frame on gaining valuable
insights regarding the human person in the
environment;
Demonstrate the virtues of prudence and
frugality toward one’s environment;
Appreciate the beauty of nature; and
Construct arguments on the pros and cons of
effective and humans ecological costs.
The Human Person in the Environment
“What is the world made of?”
“How can we explain the process of change?”
Through
cognitive and
scientific eyes
(Greeks) Through
spiritual
perspective
(Eastern)
It is a change from the
mythical explanation
of the origins of the
cosmos to a more
rational explanation. It
is a change in
worldview, a change in
how reality, truth, and
facts are viewed.
PHILOSOPHERS OF
NATURE
Nature is the relationship of the physical world
and its relationship with men’s behavior and
with his fellowmen - Lao Tzu
Claimed that weakness can overcome strength.

Taoist goal is to become one with all things and

to coexist with Heaven and Earth.
Chuang Tzu believed in nourishing nature,
returning to destiny, and enjoying nature.
Transformation is to the things themselves.
CONTEMPORARY VIEWS OF
NATURE
Two Main Frameworks
ANTHROPOCENTRIC MODEL ECOCENTRIC MODEL
Humans are essential Highlights the ecological or
and central to the relational integrity of
universe humans that provide
meaning to our morals and
Humanity claims values.
ownership or authority
Love, respect, admiration
over the land.
for nature, and a high
regard for its value are
essential.
 ANTHROPOCENTRIC ECOCENTRIC
MODEL MODEL
CATEGORIES INCLUDED: CATEGORIES INCLUDED:
1. HUMAN 1. NATURE
2. CULTURE 2. WILD
3. INDIVIDUALISM 3. HOLISM
4. MIND 4. NATURE/COSMOS
5. CALCULATIVE 5. BODY
6. HUMAN OVER/AGAINST 6. RELATIONAL
ENVIRONMENTS
7. EARTH/WISDOM
7. GLOBAL/TECHNOLOGICAL
8. ECOLOGY OVER/AGAINST
HUMANS
The importance of Aesthetics allow
human persons to value the
environment, that includes aesthetic
appreciation, enjoyment, relaxation,
satisfaction, calm, peace, social
interaction, growth toward holism,
and self - understanding.
PAYNE, P. (2009)
 Noticing Disorder in the Universe

An unfair or unjust utilization of the

environment results in ecological crises
and disasters
ABUSE OF NATURE AS AN IMPLICATION TO
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF
INSTRUMENTALISM
 8 Categories of Carbon Footprint
1. Construction
2. Shelter
3. Food
4. Clothing
5. Mobility
6. Manufactured goods
7. Services
8. Trade
 Appreciating the Beauty of Nature
Regarded that the earth is flat, thin, and
circular. He claimed that everything is
made of water.
- Thales of Miletus 640-546 BCE

The evolution of the world begins with the

generation of opposites in a certain region of
nature. He claimed that all things were made of
indefinite and boundless nature. The earth is
cylindrical.
- Anaximander 610-547 BCE
 He claimed that the earth was a flat
disc supported by air. The sun and
moon are flat circling over the earth
like a hat spinning.
- Anaximenes 585 – 528 BCE

The universe is a living embodiment of

nature’s order, harmony and beauty. All
things can be explained through numbers.
- Pythagoras 580 – 500 BCE

The universe is composed of fire. There is no

reality, that is, nothing remains the same.
Everything in reality is in constant flux
(change).
- Heraclitus 535 – 475 BCE
He claimed that reality is
permanent, that change is an
illusion.
- Parmenides 6th century – 510 BCE

To understand nature is to rely in our mind

and reason. We identify the qualities of
things and its motion in reality
- Zeno 489 – 430 BCE

Reality is consist of two

entities, mind and matter.
- Anaxagoras 500 – 428 BCE
Modern Thinkers of Nature
Immanuel Kant
A. Beauty is ultimately a symbol of morality.
B. Be free of personal biases in analyzing opinions and
expressing our ideas.
C. The orderliness and the harmony of nature with our
faculties guide us toward a deeper religious perspective.

Herbert Marcuse
A. Humanity has dominated nature.
B. Change happens if we change our attitude towards
environment.
George Herbert Mead
A. Human beings have both rights and duties.
B. Man lives in a world of meaning.
C. To enter into it in nature and art that the enjoyed
meanings of life may become a part of living is the attitude
of aesthetic appreciation.

John Dewey
A. “Man is a creature of habit.”
B. Our ethical thinking with our animal biology and sociality
allows us to acquire and cooperate with the environment.
We consider social influence and direction.
C. Habituation is an ongoing process by which people
internalize patterns of behavior from their environment to
get along and get ahead.
ECOLOGICAL CONSCIENCE is an individual responsibility. It
is the right to live and blossom for both human beings and
all life forms.
- Ecologists

Maurice Merleau-Ponty
“Living things are not oriented toward an
objective world but toward an environment
that is organized meaningfully in terms of their
individual and specific style and vital goals.” –
tools, language, culture. These are significative
intentions embodied within the world.
 Caring for the Environment
Contributes to Health, Well-being,
and Sustainable Development
A. Deep Ecology
A. Cause of Ecological crisis: Anthropocentrism
B. It encourages humanity to shift from
anthropocentrism to ecocentrism.
B. Social Ecology
A. Cause of Ecological crisis: Authoritative social structures
B. It calls for small-scale societies, which recognize that
humanity is linked with the well-being of the natural world
in which human life depends.

C. Ecofeminism
A. Cause of Ecological crisis: Male dominance
B. Removing the superior versus inferior in human relations;
equality and fairness.
Demonstrating the Virtues o
Prudence and Frugality
Erich Fromm
Strongest Motivator
of Human Behavior
1. Human desire to
experience
connection and
bond with others
2. Desire to live, not
die.
New Society Proposed by
Erich Fromm
1. The willingness to give up all forms of
having in order to fully be.
2. Being fully present where one is.
3. Trying to reduce greed, hate, and
illusions as much as one is capable.
4. Reaching the full growth of oneself and
of one’s fellow beings as the supreme goal
of living.
5. Not deceiving others, but also not being
deceived by others; one may be called innocent,
but not naïve.
6. Freedom that is not arbitrariness but the
possibility to be oneself, not as a bundle of greedy
desires, but as a delicately balanced structure that
at any moment is confronted with the alternatives
of growth or decay, life, or death.
7. Happiness in the process of ever-growing
aliveness, whatever the furthest point is that fate
permits one to reach, for living as fully as on can
is so satisfactory that the concern for what one
might or might not attain has little chance to
8. Joy comes from giving and sharing, not from
hoarding and exploiting.

9. Developing one’s capacity for love, together

with one’s capacity for critical, unsentimental
thought.

10. Shedding one’s narcissism and accepting that

tragic limitations are inherent in human existence.
Value in life

Conservation of Resources
Biblical verse

Nehemiah 9:6
“And then the people pf Israel prayed this
prayer: You, Lord, you alone are Lord; you made
the heavens and the stars of the sky. You made
land and sea and everything in them, you gave
life to all. The heavenly powers bow down and
worship you.”