Człowiek miarą troski o środowisko naturalne

Abstract

The paper takes up the contemporary ecological problems in the anthropological perspective. In this view man comes to the fore as the centre of those problems, i.e. as their doer, victim and as that who is called upon to preserve an appropriate order in his natural environment. Apart from obvious benefits which the mankind has gained from progress, including that within the scope of the ecological transformations of the world, one cannot remain blind to the negative phenomena and effects of those transformations. The situation in which the contemporary man has found himself is well illustrated by the parable about the prodigal son (Lk 15, 11-32). Similarly to this evangelical son today’s ..homo-technicus” to a considerable extent has squandered his „property” which he received from God-Creator, that is to say, the natural environment This situation endangers not only the very foundations of human existence on the earth, but also man’s dignity. In view of the construing of ecological ethics the doctrinal inspirations of the Teaching Office of the Church tend towards the so-called personalistic norm (comp. Gaudium et spes no 35). Taking into account the criticism of the anthropocentrically-oriented ecological ethics on the part of the representatives of the biocentric standpoint, one could formulate the principal normative postulate of such ethics as follows: ..act in such a way so that the results of your actions do not destroy an appropriate vitality and integrity of your manhood nor that of the non-human world („nicht-menschlichen Natur”).