AND Sustainable Development

AND
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Sustainable development has been defined in many ways, but
the most frequently quoted definition is from Our Common Future,
also known as the Brundtland Report. It was in this report that the
idea of “sustainable development” was used. "Sustainable
development is development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their
own needs.”
Anthropocentrism from Greek ἄνθρωπος, ánthrōpos, “human
being”; and κέντρον, kéntron, “center”) is the belief that human
beings are the central or most significant species on the planet (in
the sense that they are considered to have a moral status or value
higher than that of all other organisms).
- The insatiable drive is what Aristotle named as the vice

of pleonaxia or insatiable acquisitiveness.
- In other words, if one advocates the idea of sustainable

development, then one must account for one’s actions
with respect to the environment, not only in the
context of its actual effects in the present but perhaps,
more importantly, its potentially harmful effects in the
future.
What is climate change?
Climate change is any significant long-term

change in the expected patterns of average
weather of a region (or the whole Earth) over a
significant period of time. Climate change is
about abnormal variations to the climate, and
the effects of these variations on other parts of
the Earth.
Cause of the climate change:
- Increase emission of greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere; like for
example: continuous burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas)
Prominent examples of the effects climate change:

- Melting of artic glaciers, sea levels rise threatening coastal populations.
- Extreme weather phenomena; drought and flooding.
- Destruction of forests (which absorb carbon dioxide) and;
- Risk for extinction of 20% to 30% species claimed by experts due to the
1.5 degrees centigrade average rise in global temperature.
Montreal Protocol (1989) and Kyoto Protocol (1997)
- These are international treaties that seek to decrease

the emission of greenhouse gases that causes damage to the
ozone layer.
o In fact, experts say that nations should act to limit global

warming to less than 2 degrees centigrade if they want to
mitigate the long-term harm of global warming to various
ecosystems.
In essence, human beings may be seen as dwellers that have become
tremendously inept in living their live prudently.
 According to Aristotle, humans seem to lack what he calls “practical

wisdom” in living in its own home, Earth.
Practical wisdom (phronesis) is an intellectual virtue, a virtue of practical

reasoning. Practical reason investigates what we can change and aims at
making good choices. The person with practical wisdom deliberates well
about how to live a good life. So practical wisdom is “a true and reasoned
state of capacity to act with regard to the things that are good or bad for
man.”
 According to Erazim Kohak, it is only by recalling and re-establishing our

essential place in nature as dwellers can we initiate geniune change and
reclaim our rightful place in the biotic community. It is only by dwelling
ethically that human beings can begin to live harmoniously with nature
once more.
KOHAK AND THE HUMAN
BEING AS DWELLER
ERAZIM KOHAK
The thinker Erazim Kohak thinks it is the forgotten
meaning of “culture” that is at the root of the human being’s
alienation from his/her environment.
Culture - is not merely the collection of artifacts or

the manifestation of a people’s tastes and
appreciation of beauty.
 According to Kohak, culture traces its etymological
roots from the Latin, cultus, which means “the yielding of
respect, honoring the scaredness of all that is.”
- Culture is not originally opposed to nature but essentially

understood as the human being’s role in it. It involves the
cultivation and recognition of the value of all that exists. To
be a person of culture is to be ethical.
• For Aristotle, being ethical has to do with coming up with
the correct course of action relative to the demands of a
situation and his/her standing in it. It is in being habitually
accustomed to choosing the mean or the mesotes
wherein the human being is most excellent in being
himself/herself.
• Kohak claims that it is only by understanding one’s

essential and moral place in nature as a dweller can one
begin to mend the wounds of avarice inflicited upon
nature.
Dweller – is someone who resides in a particular place and
calls this place his/her home.
 Someone who dwells is someone who recognizes the

value inherent in being afforded the comfort of being
received and welcomed by a place.
Home - nurtures one’s existence for free.
- does not ask for anything other than respect.
• In showing respect for one’s home, one recognizes the

value inherent therein and cultivates its capacity to serve
as a dwelling place not just for oneself but for others as
well.
• To dwell is to recognize the innate value one’s home and
allowing such recognition to guide one’s actions in it.
Natural environment - is the human being’s only home.

- it is a complex system that allows one to explore
his/her possibilities and sustain his/her needs even beyond the
biological kind.
NATURE:
 Inspires artists
 Offers new questions to the scientific-minded
 Openly offers itself to the demands of material production.
• It is the fulfilling the demands of culture that one

becomes a virtuous dweller, thereby justifying one’s
place in one’s home.
• In Aristotelian terms, to dwell is to be an excellent
human being with respect to the demands of one’s very
situatedness in the natural environment.
Culture - becomes a thing instead of an act.

- may be, therefore, seen as the human person’s ethical task
in nature.
- it is the way one ought to dwell in nature.

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- The insatiable drive is what Aristotle named as the vice

- In other words, if one advocates the idea of sustainable

Climate change is any significant long-term

Prominent examples of the effects climate change:

- These are international treaties that seek to decrease

o In fact, experts say that nations should act to limit global

 According to Aristotle, humans seem to lack what he calls “practical

Practical wisdom (phronesis) is an intellectual virtue, a virtue of practical

 According to Erazim Kohak, it is only by recalling and re-establishing our

Culture - is not merely the collection of artifacts or

- Culture is not originally opposed to nature but essentially

• Kohak claims that it is only by understanding one’s

 Someone who dwells is someone who recognizes the

• In showing respect for one’s home, one recognizes the

Natural environment - is the human being’s only home.

• It is the fulfilling the demands of culture that one

Culture - becomes a thing instead of an act.

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