Ecological crisis and the thesis of human exception
Carbajo / 28 Aprile 2023

This post asserts that the main cause of the current socio-environmental crisis is the dualistic anthropological conception that has prevailed in Western philosophy[i]. Indeed, Western culture has accentuated the separation between man and other creatures (ontic dualism), and has also divided the human being internally, making a clear separation between soul and body (ontological dualism). In this sense, the encyclical Laudato si’ affirms that “there can be no ecology without an adequate anthropology” (LS 118), and that we need to overcome those unhealthy dualisms, that “left a mark on certain Christian thinkers in the course of history” (LS 98).  1. Ontological dualism Ontological dualism distinguishes clearly between the body and the spiritual/rational dimension of man. The latter would be the most authentically human and, therefore, the body should be subordinated to it. The human being is described using “multiple oppositional pairs: body/soul, rationality/affectivity, need/freedom, nature/culture, instinct/morality, etc.” In the seventeenth century, Descartes makes a net separation between the rational soul and the body. The first would be the essence of man, who is characterized by his ability to think (res cogitans), while his body would be only a material addition that does not differ substantially from those of animals. Both…