The Hubris of Climate Change

Should humans harmonize with nature of seek to manipulate and master it? These two polar views of man’s role on earth could determine whether we survive climate change, says Tikkun. Paul Wapner writes that, “Ethical action involves deliberation and the conscious choice to restrict acting on one’s desires in deference to the welfare of others. The new environmentalism promises gadgets and systems that will absolve us of the need for such reflection and consideration. Most ethical action also entails a sense of humility about oneself and, by extension, the human species. At least since Aristotle, ethicists have considered humility a virtue whose practice deepens the human character and heightens one’s moral sensitivity.”