The Human Person And The Environment 6332v

The different approaches of understanding our relationship with the environment. 1. Cosmos-centric approach • In the earlier civilization, human beings understood themselves as a being in harmony with the nature. The whole of the cosmos in one whole system of order of which we are a part. • Taoism thought, that the universe can also be understood as a vast spectrum of energy in need of constant balance and harmony.

• It shows that human beings are a microcosm of the cosmos. It means that the universe is reflected in us; we are a small version of the universe. When there is imbalance within the person, there would also imbalance in everything around it.

2. Theocentric Approach • Theo-centric approach refers to an understanding coming from a religious interpretation. This especially applies to the Judeo-Christian tradition as specified in the creation story. The story relates that after creating the world, and all that is in it, including man and woman, God said “Go and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.” • Man as stewards of creation. • To steward over something is to manage or to put something under your care. • We are created in God’s image and likeness.

3. The anthropocentric approach • Anthropos (man)+centric, is like the theocentric approach that puts the human person in dominion over the earth, but de-emphasizes the role of God. • The development of experimental science has made the human being aware that he can detach himself from the ongoing cycle of nature and thereby control it. The natural aging of the skin, or the shape of one’s body parts, among others, can also be altered.

The central role of the human person in addressing environmental problems • The inevitability of change, the need for progress and development-these are common arguments raised among developed countries with regard to the issues on environmental problems such as climate change.

Rapidification -the continued acceleration of changes affecting humanity and the planet is coupled today with a more intensified pace of life and work. • Change is something desirable, yet it becomes a source of anxiety when it causes harm to the world and to the quality of life.

Man must be proactive and use our freedom responsibly and commit ourselves to a lifestyle that is beneficial not only to ourselves but also to nature and to our fellow human beings especially to the generations that are yet to come.