The connection between integral humanism and integral ecology
Almost 50 years after Populorum progressio, Laudato si' offers the Church and all people of good will a new roadmap for integral development. It is no longer just a question of better distributing wealth, but of caring for the earth, our common home, by looking after the weakest of its inhabitants.
Motivation
No one following the current debate on ecology will not be surprised if a dissertation deals with the topic of ecology in connection with the holistic development of humankind. The link between the integral development of the human being and ecology is also of great importance to Pope Francis. It is important that we take care of the development of each individual human being, but this alone is not enough, since human beings do not live alone, but in communion with others and with the whole of creation. In other words, concern for the integral development of human beings and concern for ecology are complementary, since human life is impossible without social and ecological conditions.
For Pope Francis, concern for integral human development includes essential attention to the natural environment. This is compromised by technological progress and a type of material development that depletes resources and forgets that it has limits. Laudato si' emphasizes that everything is interconnected: the way we treat others, the way we treat ourselves, the way we treat creation and the way we relate to the Creator. These thoughts from Pope Francis have motivated me to engage with this topic.
Research questions
- Is holistic human development conceivable without taking ecology and culture into account?
- To what extent is there a connection between integral humanism or the holistic development of human beings and ecology?
- Why are cultural and ecological embedding of great importance for human development?
Research methods
The aim of my work is to answer the above questions. In the first part, I will deal with the holistic development of the human being, the so-called “integral humanism”. First, I will explain where this term comes from and use Jacques Maritain and Pope Paul VI to define what exactly is meant by integral humanism and what prerequisites are important for it. Since all people and peoples, especially in Africa, long for development, I would like to show that this first begins within the human being. Or rather, as Pope Paul VI put it: “Development is not simply synonymous with economic growth. True development must be comprehensive, it must have every person and the whole person in mind [...].” (Populorum progressio no. 14)
I will then clarify the importance of the relationship between humans and ecology and define ecology as an essential reference point for the integral development of humans. In this second part, I will try to analyze the papal understanding of ecology and how its central points can help to develop a better relationship between humans and the ecological environment.
Finally, in the third part, I will show that African culture contains a rich treasure in terms of respect for fellow creatures and integral ecology.
Literature
Laux, Henning / Henkel, Anna: Die Erde, der Mensch und das Soziale: Zur Transformation gesellschaftlicher Naturverhältnisse im Anthropozän, Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag 2018.
Maritain, Jacques: Humanisme intégral. Problèmes temporels et spirituels d’une nouvelle chré-tienté, Editions Montaigne, Paris 1936.
Papst Franziskus: Enzyklika Laudato Si'. Über die Sorge für das gemeinsame Haus (24. Mai 2015).
Vogt, Markus: Christliche Umweltethik. Grundlagen und zentrale Herausforderungen, Freiburg i.Br.: Herder 2021.
Weizsäcker, Ernst Ulrich: Humanökologie und Umweltschutz, Stuttgart: Ernst Klett Verlag / München: Kösel-Verlag 1972.
Supervisor
Ao. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Guggenberger
Department of Systematic theology
Doctoral candidate
Jean Baptiste Iranzi
Jean.Iranzi(at)student.uibk.ac.at
