Ecomodernism – defending a new humanist approach to nature

I defend here Luc Ferry’s new humanist approach to nature, ecomodernism, outlined in his Les Sept Ecologies (2021). Ferry’s notion of a “second humanism” takes into account oversights in the Enlightenment thinking, now seen as abstracted from the real life-world of persons, in particular, and...

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Main Author: Patrick Giddy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of the Free State 2024-12-01
Series:Acta Academica
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Online Access:http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/aa/article/view/8973
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author Patrick Giddy
author_facet Patrick Giddy
author_sort Patrick Giddy
collection DOAJ
description I defend here Luc Ferry’s new humanist approach to nature, ecomodernism, outlined in his Les Sept Ecologies (2021). Ferry’s notion of a “second humanism” takes into account oversights in the Enlightenment thinking, now seen as abstracted from the real life-world of persons, in particular, and arising out of changed conditions of marriage, that of “love-passion” as core value. I first outline Ferry’s account of the contemporary ecology landscape. Three anti-humanist approaches to nature are considered: the pre-modern supposition of intentionality in non-human living beings; deep ecology’s attribution of an equal functionality to humans and non-humans in the ecosystem; and evolutionary biology’s reductionist version of ethics. I then develop a positive account of the isomorphism of the intentionality of humans and all conscious living animals, through an Aristotelian account of sensation as a power of transcendence. The specific condition of human transcendence is reformulated by contemporary commentators through the notion of language, and again through the explanatory notion of self-enactment. This furnishes a foundation for the defence of the new humanist approach to nature.
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spelling doaj-art-620ea2c4486c4b358c57d656403a48bb2025-08-20T02:57:30ZengUniversity of the Free StateActa Academica0587-24052415-04792024-12-0156210.38140/aa.v56i2.8973Ecomodernism – defending a new humanist approach to naturePatrick Giddy0University of KwaZulu-Natal I defend here Luc Ferry’s new humanist approach to nature, ecomodernism, outlined in his Les Sept Ecologies (2021). Ferry’s notion of a “second humanism” takes into account oversights in the Enlightenment thinking, now seen as abstracted from the real life-world of persons, in particular, and arising out of changed conditions of marriage, that of “love-passion” as core value. I first outline Ferry’s account of the contemporary ecology landscape. Three anti-humanist approaches to nature are considered: the pre-modern supposition of intentionality in non-human living beings; deep ecology’s attribution of an equal functionality to humans and non-humans in the ecosystem; and evolutionary biology’s reductionist version of ethics. I then develop a positive account of the isomorphism of the intentionality of humans and all conscious living animals, through an Aristotelian account of sensation as a power of transcendence. The specific condition of human transcendence is reformulated by contemporary commentators through the notion of language, and again through the explanatory notion of self-enactment. This furnishes a foundation for the defence of the new humanist approach to nature. http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/aa/article/view/8973Luc Ferryecomodernismsecond humanismAristotelianismhuman transcendance
spellingShingle Patrick Giddy
Ecomodernism – defending a new humanist approach to nature
Acta Academica
Luc Ferry
ecomodernism
second humanism
Aristotelianism
human transcendance
title Ecomodernism – defending a new humanist approach to nature
title_full Ecomodernism – defending a new humanist approach to nature
title_fullStr Ecomodernism – defending a new humanist approach to nature
title_full_unstemmed Ecomodernism – defending a new humanist approach to nature
title_short Ecomodernism – defending a new humanist approach to nature
title_sort ecomodernism defending a new humanist approach to nature
topic Luc Ferry
ecomodernism
second humanism
Aristotelianism
human transcendance
url http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/aa/article/view/8973
work_keys_str_mv AT patrickgiddy ecomodernismdefendinganewhumanistapproachtonature