L’écologie, réponse à la crise de sens? :
le défi philosophique de la crise écologique selon la perspective de Hans Jonas
Most philosophers agree today that there is a crisis of meaning in the Western world.  J.-F. Mattei, for example, in La crise de sens (2006), unequivocally demonstrates this.  According to him, this crisis has five dimensions: spiritual, religious, artistic, economic, and finally, cultural.  This is true in my view, although incomplete, because Mattéi does not address the most important crisis: the ecological crisis.  The argument that leads me to postulate the utmost importance of this ecological crisis is simple: if the environment is no longer able to sustain human life, humans cease to exist.  The environmental aspect of the crisis can thus not be subtracted from a reflection on the overall crisis since, in my view, it offers an opportunity for a philosophical questioning to address this crisis.  In the book entitled Écologie, éthique et création (1994), Dominique Jacquemin orients us in this direction by raising the following three questions : 1. Is it possible to frame our ecological concerns in ethical terms? 2. How can ecological concerns affect our relationship with the world and with the future? 3. How can the present ecological reflection establish an ethically viable link between man and nature, both now and in the future?  The questions raised by the environmental crisis thus lead us to think about the meaning and the finality of human life and also about the concept of human beings in their relationship to the world.  The purpose of this memoir is to address these questions by finding inspiration in the ethical principles outlined in The Imperative of Responsibility (1979, English 1984) by Hans Jonas (1903 – 1993), in order to bring out their relevance for the current environmental challenge.  In other words, I will answer the following question: In today's society and for the future, what are the most important aspects in Hans Jonas' book on “The Imperative of Responsibility” with regards to the resolution of the crisis of meaning?  To accomplish this, the memoir is divided in two chapters. The first is the body of the memoir which contains three main parts related to the three questions raised above.  The second and final chapter contains an initial critical analysis of The Imperative of Responsibility followed by an appreciation by Hans Jonas.  Methodologically, I intend to shed light on the need for ethical responsibility in face of the ecological crisis by focusing on the themes of otherness and solidarity.  In this way, I hope to show that the ecological crisis opens up possible avenues for the resolution, at least in part, of the crisis in meaning we are now facing.
Éthique Écologie Technoscience Nature Ethics Environment Ecology Ontology Metaphysics Finality Positivism