The Theocentric Perspective of Laudato Si’: A Critical Discussion
In this article, I focus on Pope Francis’s “green” encyclical, Laudato Si’. After outlining some of its characteristics, I single out the pope’s engagement with anthropocentrism for critical discussion. The pope criticizes anthropocentrism (the view that human beings alone have intrinsic value), see...
| Published in: | Philosophia reformata |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2018
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| In: |
Philosophia reformata
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| IxTheo Classification: | KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history KDB Roman Catholic Church NBC Doctrine of God NBD Doctrine of Creation NBE Anthropology NCG Environmental ethics; Creation ethics |
| Further subjects: | B
Anthropocentrism
common creation story
ecological crisis
environmental ethics
Pope Francis
Laudato Si’
technology
theocentrism
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) |
| Summary: | In this article, I focus on Pope Francis’s “green” encyclical, Laudato Si’. After outlining some of its characteristics, I single out the pope’s engagement with anthropocentrism for critical discussion. The pope criticizes anthropocentrism (the view that human beings alone have intrinsic value), seeing it as a root cause of ecological destruction. Instead, he proposes what I would call a theocentric conception of nature. I criticize this view. First, I suggest that the pope is insufficiently critical in adopting a theocentric approach to the common creation story. Secondly, I argue from both a biblical-theological and a philosophical perspective against the pope’s resistance to the anthropocentrism of Genesis 1:26. Thirdly, I argue that because the pope opts for non-anthropocentrism, the encyclical falls short of offering a constructive way forward in relation to functioning in a technocratic society. Through these comments, I seek to strengthen the powerful and important message of this encyclical. |
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| ISSN: | 2352-8230 |
| Contains: | In: Philosophia reformata
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/23528230-08301004 |