Modernity as a philosophical and intellectual movement has cultivated a perspective of
humanity as separated from nature. In modernity, nature is valuable only insofar as it has
instrumental value (i.e. that it may be utilized for the benefit of humanity). This study
postulates that such an approach to the nature-human relationship may have led to
considerable environmental damage and misuse, and that the perspective of humanity as
separate from nature should be re-evaluated.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin‟s philosophy is investigated as a possible means to overcome this
dichotomy. De Chardin describes varying ontologies that are embedded in the evolutionary
process and against which all human relevance and action must be sketched. This differs
from an evolutionistic approach, because whilst engaging with scientific discourse (which
tends to be reductionist in approach), De Chardin also incorporates spiritual and religious
ideas and perspectives. Furthermore, De Chardin‟s ideas differ from vague pantheism,
irrationally or mystically formulated, because he engages with the terminology used in
modern science and re-evaluates this terminology‟s application and conclusions in relation to
his newly developed cosmology (or cosmogenesis).
Several questions are central in this study: Firstly, could De Chardin‟s approach be
incorporated into the natural scientific discourse? Secondly, does De Chardin‟s cosmology
provide new avenues for investigation into a closer and more sustainable relationship
between humanity and the natural world? In this study it is postulated that De Chardin does
make a contribution to a more sustainable relationship between nature and humanity through
his perspective of a holistic ontology that differs from simple mysticism and his postulation
of the noosphere, which leads to a new evaluation of humanity‟s technology use. / MPhil, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nwu/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/10005 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Du Toit, Jean |
| Publisher | North-West University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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