Presocratics and Other Living Beings

Advocates of the questioning of the dominant anthropocentric perspective of the world have been increasingly strongly presenting (bio)ethical demands for a new solution of the relationship between humans and other beings, saying that adherence to the Western philosophical and theological traditions...

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Main Author: Željko Kaluđerović
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine. Institute of Higher Education 2020-12-01
Series:Філософія освіти
Subjects:
Online Access:https://philosopheducation.com/index.php/philed/article/view/622
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author Željko Kaluđerović
author_facet Željko Kaluđerović
author_sort Željko Kaluđerović
collection DOAJ
description Advocates of the questioning of the dominant anthropocentric perspective of the world have been increasingly strongly presenting (bio)ethical demands for a new solution of the relationship between humans and other beings, saying that adherence to the Western philosophical and theological traditions has caused the current environmental, and not just environmental, crisis. The attempts are being made to establish a new relationship by relativizing the differences between man and the non-human living beings, often by attributing specifically human traits and categories, such as dignity, moral status and rights to non-human living beings. The author explores antecedents of the standpoints that deviate from the mainstream Western philosophy, in terms of non-anthropocentric extension of ethics, and finds them in the fragments of first physicists, which emphasize kinship of all varieties of life. Pythagoras, Empedocles, Anaxagoras and Democritus, in this context, considered certain animals and plants as sacred, i.e. they believed that they are, in a sense, responsible for what they do and that they apart from being able to be driven by a natural desire, being able to breathe, feel, be sad and happy, also have a soul, power of discernment, awareness, the ability to think, understanding and mind. Finally, the author believes that solutions or mitigation of the mentioned crisis are not in the simple Aesopeian levelling of animals and plants "upwards", but in an adequate paideutic approach which in humans will develop an inherent (bio)ethical model of accepting non-human living beings as creatures who deserve moral and decent treatment and respect.
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spelling doaj.art-68b4a237d7b64d38b45896de9144ffbb2022-12-22T02:40:57ZengNational Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine. Institute of Higher EducationФілософія освіти2309-16062616-76622020-12-0126119221010.31874/2309-1606-2020-26-1-121035Presocratics and Other Living BeingsŽeljko Kaluđerović0University of Novi Sad, SerbiaAdvocates of the questioning of the dominant anthropocentric perspective of the world have been increasingly strongly presenting (bio)ethical demands for a new solution of the relationship between humans and other beings, saying that adherence to the Western philosophical and theological traditions has caused the current environmental, and not just environmental, crisis. The attempts are being made to establish a new relationship by relativizing the differences between man and the non-human living beings, often by attributing specifically human traits and categories, such as dignity, moral status and rights to non-human living beings. The author explores antecedents of the standpoints that deviate from the mainstream Western philosophy, in terms of non-anthropocentric extension of ethics, and finds them in the fragments of first physicists, which emphasize kinship of all varieties of life. Pythagoras, Empedocles, Anaxagoras and Democritus, in this context, considered certain animals and plants as sacred, i.e. they believed that they are, in a sense, responsible for what they do and that they apart from being able to be driven by a natural desire, being able to breathe, feel, be sad and happy, also have a soul, power of discernment, awareness, the ability to think, understanding and mind. Finally, the author believes that solutions or mitigation of the mentioned crisis are not in the simple Aesopeian levelling of animals and plants "upwards", but in an adequate paideutic approach which in humans will develop an inherent (bio)ethical model of accepting non-human living beings as creatures who deserve moral and decent treatment and respect.https://philosopheducation.com/index.php/philed/article/view/622pre-socraticskinshiphumansnon-human living beingsprotectionwelfare
spellingShingle Željko Kaluđerović
Presocratics and Other Living Beings
Філософія освіти
pre-socratics
kinship
humans
non-human living beings
protection
welfare
title Presocratics and Other Living Beings
title_full Presocratics and Other Living Beings
title_fullStr Presocratics and Other Living Beings
title_full_unstemmed Presocratics and Other Living Beings
title_short Presocratics and Other Living Beings
title_sort presocratics and other living beings
topic pre-socratics
kinship
humans
non-human living beings
protection
welfare
url https://philosopheducation.com/index.php/philed/article/view/622
work_keys_str_mv AT zeljkokaluđerovic presocraticsandotherlivingbeings