Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ReNa (Collective Responsibility towards Nature and Future Generations)
Reporting period: 2022-11-01 to 2024-10-31
This research proposal aims to redefine a collective and proactive understanding of responsibility toward nature and future generations. It builds upon the conceptualization of nature as developed by German Idealism in the early 19th century and the theory of responsibility formulated by Hans Jonas in the 20th century. The research proceeds in two stages, each with a distinct objective:
1. The Rational Foundation of Collective Responsibility:
It first focuses on establishing the rational basis for a collective, proactive responsibility toward the world we inhabit—namely, the duty to care for it. This represents the “objective side” of the research, grounded in the Kantian perspective of human beings as inherently rational and morally responsible agents. Achieving this objective requires a deeper exploration of the relationship between nature and humanity. Specifically, the project addresses: (1.1) The ontological continuity between nature and human beings, which underscores the intrinsic value of nature and life itself; (1.2) The primary responsibility humans have towards the natural world. To accomplish this objective, I have analyzed and revitalized the concept of nature as presented in German Idealism, while also exploring its ethical implications.
2. The Role of Human Motivation and Context:
In the second phase of this project, I will examine the subjective dimensions of responsibility, such as the motivations, context, and consequences of human actions. This phase serves as the “bridge” between the formal rational foundation of collective responsibility and its practical application. Here, my focus will be on key ethical concepts such as “respect” and “care” for vulnerable nature and future generations, as well as the “fear” of environmental collapse and its implications for humanity’s future.
The concept of collective responsibility developed in this project has the potential to contribute meaningfully to contemporary debates, particularly those surrounding environmental issues and sustainability.
1. The Rational Foundation of Collective Responsibility:
It first focuses on establishing the rational basis for a collective, proactive responsibility toward the world we inhabit—namely, the duty to care for it. This represents the “objective side” of the research, grounded in the Kantian perspective of human beings as inherently rational and morally responsible agents. Achieving this objective requires a deeper exploration of the relationship between nature and humanity. Specifically, the project addresses: (1.1) The ontological continuity between nature and human beings, which underscores the intrinsic value of nature and life itself; (1.2) The primary responsibility humans have towards the natural world. To accomplish this objective, I have analyzed and revitalized the concept of nature as presented in German Idealism, while also exploring its ethical implications.
2. The Role of Human Motivation and Context:
In the second phase of this project, I will examine the subjective dimensions of responsibility, such as the motivations, context, and consequences of human actions. This phase serves as the “bridge” between the formal rational foundation of collective responsibility and its practical application. Here, my focus will be on key ethical concepts such as “respect” and “care” for vulnerable nature and future generations, as well as the “fear” of environmental collapse and its implications for humanity’s future.
The concept of collective responsibility developed in this project has the potential to contribute meaningfully to contemporary debates, particularly those surrounding environmental issues and sustainability.
During the first 24 months of the project I conducted an in-depth analysis and reinterpretation of the concept of nature within German Idealism, in particular Kant and Hegel, and German Romanticism, with a focus on exploring its ethical dimensions, passing through Jonas’s philosophical biology – which has a strong idealist core – and his ethics of responsibility. This study has been carried out completing the Work package 4 and implementing the Work packages 5 and 6. In particular, the accomplishment of point 1.1 (ontological continuity) is reflected in the following published essays: Giulia Battistoni, Ambiente e responsabilità. Verso una riattualizzazione delle filosofie della natura di Hegel e di Jonas, in C. Chiurco (ed.): Il contagio e la cura. Il mondo dopo il virus, QuiEdit, Verona 2023, pp. 111-135; Giulia Battistoni: Lebensprozess e organismo vivente. Elementi di contatto tra le filosofie della natura di Hegel e Whitehead – attraverso Jonas, in «Giornale di Metafisica» 1/2023, Hegel e Whitehead, eds. A. Giacone, L. Vanzago, pp. 59-72 (Work Package 5). The accomplishment of point 1.2 (Primary Human Responsibility) is reflected in the following published essays: G. Battistoni, A biocentric ontology at the basis of an anthropocentric concept of coresponsibility to non-human world, in «Filosofia Morale/Moral Philosophy» 2/2023, 4, pp. 101-110 (Work Package 6); Giulia Battistoni, Per una fondazione razionale della co-responsabilità verso la natura e le generazioni future, in G. Battistoni, G. Erle (eds.), Responsabilità, comunità e comunicazione: dalla filosofia moderna all’etica contemporanea, in «Pòlemos. Materiali di filosofia e critica sociale» 1, 2023, pp. 101-120 (Work Package 4). The following article is the result of the Work packages 5 and 6 and reflects the accomplishment of both points: Giulia Battistoni, Einsichten für die gegenwärtige Umweltethik: Romantik, Hegel, Jonas, in M. Lewin (ed.), Klassische Deutsche Philosophie: Wege in die Zukunft, Brill/Mentis, Boston, 2024, pp. 211-228.
My research fills a significant scientific gap, offering an innovative contribution that enhances both Hegelian scholarship and studies on the ethics of responsibility initiated by Hans Jonas.
While Jonas’ Das Prinzip Verantwortung remains the cornerstone of contemporary theories of collective responsibility toward nature and future generations, secondary literature on Jonas’ ethics has largely remained confined to this text. My research advances beyond this approach by demonstrating that Jonas’ concept of responsibility fundamentally originates in his philosophical biology, as articulated in The Phenomenon of Life. Through a detailed textual analysis and a comparative study of Jonas’ and Hegel’s understandings of nature and the living organism—drawing on the critical German editions of both authors, which offer rich material for analysis—I argue that Jonas’ philosophical biology contains an underlying German Idealist core, a connection largely overlooked by Jonas himself and his interpreters.
By tracing Jonas’ arguments back to their German Idealist roots, I will push his theory of responsibility to its fullest consequences. In particular, I will show that the objective idealism of Schelling and Hegel provides the necessary groundwork for a proper understanding of the relationship between humanity and nature. This perspective is crucial because it affirms the ontological continuity between human beings and nature, recognizing the intrinsic value of life and nature in themselves. Simultaneously, it establishes the primary responsibility of humans as rational and reflective agents, distinct from other living organisms.
This ambitious objective constitutes a significant step forward, moving the discussion of collective responsibility beyond its current state. Once this foundation is established, I will address the context, motivations, and consequences of human agency in relation to collective responsibility. My study will integrate key ethical concepts such as Jonas’ notions of vulnerability and fear, the Kantian idea of respect as a moral motivator, and relevant Hegelian arguments, particularly the concept of appropriation of natural objects.
Through this integrated approach, my research not only repositions Hegel’s philosophy as central to environmental ethics but also provides a crucial extension of Jonas’ theory, thereby offering a novel and comprehensive framework for understanding collective responsibility toward nature and future generations.
While Jonas’ Das Prinzip Verantwortung remains the cornerstone of contemporary theories of collective responsibility toward nature and future generations, secondary literature on Jonas’ ethics has largely remained confined to this text. My research advances beyond this approach by demonstrating that Jonas’ concept of responsibility fundamentally originates in his philosophical biology, as articulated in The Phenomenon of Life. Through a detailed textual analysis and a comparative study of Jonas’ and Hegel’s understandings of nature and the living organism—drawing on the critical German editions of both authors, which offer rich material for analysis—I argue that Jonas’ philosophical biology contains an underlying German Idealist core, a connection largely overlooked by Jonas himself and his interpreters.
By tracing Jonas’ arguments back to their German Idealist roots, I will push his theory of responsibility to its fullest consequences. In particular, I will show that the objective idealism of Schelling and Hegel provides the necessary groundwork for a proper understanding of the relationship between humanity and nature. This perspective is crucial because it affirms the ontological continuity between human beings and nature, recognizing the intrinsic value of life and nature in themselves. Simultaneously, it establishes the primary responsibility of humans as rational and reflective agents, distinct from other living organisms.
This ambitious objective constitutes a significant step forward, moving the discussion of collective responsibility beyond its current state. Once this foundation is established, I will address the context, motivations, and consequences of human agency in relation to collective responsibility. My study will integrate key ethical concepts such as Jonas’ notions of vulnerability and fear, the Kantian idea of respect as a moral motivator, and relevant Hegelian arguments, particularly the concept of appropriation of natural objects.
Through this integrated approach, my research not only repositions Hegel’s philosophy as central to environmental ethics but also provides a crucial extension of Jonas’ theory, thereby offering a novel and comprehensive framework for understanding collective responsibility toward nature and future generations.