The Stoic philosophers, who flourished in the Graeco-Roman world between the third century BCE and the fourth century CE, were profoundly interested in the natural world, and considered science essential knowledge for a philosopher. It’s likely that a Stoic time traveller, transported into the early 21st century, would initially hesitate to believe that humans could remake the climate of the Earth and in doing so threaten the future of the entire biosphere. I think we can be confident, however, that once presented with the scientific evidence our devotee of Hellenic reason would embrace the consensus and agree we are facing an incomprehensibly dangerous emergency.
It is now widely agreed in the scientific community that we are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction event in Earth’s history – and that this one has been triggered by human activity. Due to the way we live, much of the biodiversity of the world has disappeared over the last hundred years, and more of it will go in the next hundred. At the end of 2018 the Living Planet Index of the World Wildlife Fund reported that from 1970 to 2014 there was a 60% decline in the overall numbers of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish. Another recent report, published in the journal Biological Conservation (Vol. 232, April 2019), found that more than 40% of the world’s insect species are dramatically declining and a third are endangered – risking what the report’s authors call a “catastrophic collapse of nature’s ecosystems.”
Denne historien er fra February/March 2020-utgaven av Philosophy Now.
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Denne historien er fra February/March 2020-utgaven av Philosophy Now.
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The Two Dennises
Hannah Mortimer observes a close encounter of the same kind.
Heraclitus (c.500 BC)
Harry Keith lets flow a stream of ideas about permanence and change.
Does the Cosmos Have a Purpose?
Raymond Tallis argues intently against universal intention.
Is Driving Fossil-Fuelled Cars Immoral?
Rufus Duits asks when we can justify driving our carbon contributors.
Abelard & Carneades Yes & No
Frank Breslin says 'yes and no' to presenting both sides of an argument.
Frankl & Sartre in Search of Meaning
Georgia Arkell compares logotherapy and atheistic existentialism.
Luce Irigaray
Luce Irigaray, now ninety-two years old, was, among many other things, one of the most impactful feminists of the 1970s liberation movements - before she was marginalised, then ostracised, from the francophone intellectual sphere.
Significance
Ruben David Azevedo tells us why, in a limitless universe, we’re not insignificant.
The Present Is Not All There Is To Happiness
Rob Glacier says don’t just live in the now.
Philosophers Exploring The Good Life
Jim Mepham quests with philosophers to discover what makes a life good.