Variations on Environmental Philosophy (Novalis, Bachelard, Sloterdijk)

The study presents three alternative possibilities of the philosophical interpretation of man-environment relationship, each of which formulates its standpoint in opposition to the ruling trends. All three “counter-discourses” deny the concept that the sole reason of human life is to unrestrictedly rule over nature. Novalis, Gaston Bachelard, and Peter Sloterdijk draw our attention to the fact that the technological and capitalistic interpretation of man and the environment (both “original” and “artefactual”) is the source of countless dangers and misunderstandings, and all three thinkers stress the symbiotic interdependence of man and environment. The thoughtful confrontation with these – sometimes seemingly extreme – approaches is an especially timely endeavour due to recent, increasingly more serious ecological problems.

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