Ecological Crisis as a Moral Crisis: A Thomistic Reflection on Environmental Issues

Ted Patrick Tuvera

doi:10.63931/39eaan07

Authors

Ted Patrick Tuvera The Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.63931/39eaan07

Keywords:

environmental/ecological crisis, Thomism, natural moral law, common good

Abstract

This essay presents a theological reflection that demonstrates how the global ecological crisis is, in fact, a moral crisis in light of St. Thomas Aquinas' theological treatises on the natural moral law and the common good. It will assert two fundamental theological assumptions: (1) that the created world, which God created and through which God makes himself known and can be known, is naturally governed by order to serve the common good for all other creatures, including man, and; (2) that man, as a microcosm, is divinely mandated to care for the planet, and is likewise morally responsible and accountable before God if he fails to true to this fundamental vocation. To demonstrate this, the present work will be divided into three main parts. First, the intersection between theology and ecology should be established, as the planet – our "common home" – serves both a natural and supernatural revelatory function in relation to the will of God. Secondly, it will briefly present pertinent data that describe the planet's current state, as well as the historical development of the crisis in question. This will somehow include the pastoral teachings of the Church regarding the environment and the ecological crisis (i.e., Pope Francis' 2015 encyclical Laudato Si' and the pastoral letters of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines). Thirdly, the principles of Aquinas on the natural moral law and the common good will be presented to demonstrate that this crisis and its causal factors primarily and grossly violate the will of God.

References

[1] Aquinas, Thomas. (1947). The Summa Theologiae (Fathers of the English Dominican Province, Trans.). Benziger Bros.

[2] Aquinas, Thomas. Commentary on Aristotle’s Physics. Corpus Thomisticum. https://isidore.co/aquinas/Physics.htm.

[3] Aristotle. (2006). Physics: Books I & II (William Charlton, Trans.) Oxford University Press.

[4] Aureada, Jose Antonio. (2000). Thomistic Anthropology, Eschatology and the Challenge of Ecology. Philippiniana Sacra, 35 (105), 401-427. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55997/ps3001xxxv105a1

[5] Avanceña, Ricky. (2018). The Philippine environment: Epicenter of wealth, beauty and destruction. Asia Pacific Perspectives, 15 (2), 55-57. Accessed through: usfca.edu/center-asia-pacific/ perspectives/v15n2/avancena

[6] Bayod, Rogelio. (2020). Communing with mother earth: Indigenous way to care and manage the ecosystem. Social Ethics Society Journal of Applied Philosophy, 6 (1), 88-107.

[7] Begon, M, et. al. (2006). Ecology: From individuals to ecosystems. Blackwell Publishing.

[8] Berry, T. & Clarke, T. (1991). Befriending the earth: A theology of reconciliation between humans and the earth. Twenty-Third Publications.

[9] Carson, Rachel. (1962). Silent spring. Houghton Mifflin.

[10] Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). (1988). What is happening to our beautiful land? Pastoral Letter. Accessed through http://cbcponline.net/what-is- happening-to-our-beautiful-land/

[11] CBCP. (2000). Water is life. Pastoral Letter. Accessed through https://cbcponline.net/water-is-life/

[12] Cobb, John. (2021). Is it too Late? A Theology of Ecology. Fortress Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv17vf3t8

[13] Commission for the Human Future (CHF). (2020). Surviving and Thriving in the 21st Century. Accessed through https://humanfuture.net/sites/default/files/CHF_Roundtable_Report_March_2020.pdf

[14] Commoner, Barry. (1974). The closing circle: Nature, man and technology. Bantam Books.

[15] Droz, Laÿna. (2022). Anthropocentrism as the scapegoat of the environmental crisis: a review. Ethics in Science and Environmental Politics, 22, 25-49. doi: https://doi.org/10.3354/esep00200 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/esep00200

[16] Edwards, Denis. (2016). ‘Sublime communion’: The theology of the natural world in Laudato si’. Theological Studies, 77 (2), 377-391. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0040563916635119 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0040563916635119

[17] Foster, Matthew. (2016). The human relationship to nature: The limit of reason, the basis of value, and the crisis of environmental ethics. Lexington Books.

[18] Francis. (2015). Laudato Si’. Accessed through https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html.

[19] Fremaux, A. (2019). After the Anthropocene: green republicanism in a post-capitalist world. Springer. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11120-5

[20] Gratsch, Edward (ed.), et. al. (1981). Principles of Catholic theology. Alba House.

[21] Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (2023). Climate change 2023: A synthesis report. doi: https://doi.org/10.59327/IPCC/AR6-9789291691647 DOI: https://doi.org/10.59327/IPCC/AR6-9789291691647

[22] Jackson, W. & Jensen, R. (2022). An inconvenient apocalypse: Environmental collapse, climate crisis, and the fate of humanity. University of Notre Dame Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.21995857

[23] Johnson, Elizabeth. (2009). An earthly Christology. America, 200 (12), 27-30.

[24] Kendall, Henry., et. al. (1992). World scientists’ warning to humanity. http://www.ucsusa.org/resources/1992-world-scientists-warning-humanity

[25] Krebs, C.J. (1972). Ecology. Harper & Row.

[26] Kirylo, James. (2023). The Catholic Teacher: Teaching for social justice with faith, hope, and love. Bloomsbury. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350246218

[27] Lasco, R. et. al. (2008). Climate change and forest ecosystems in the Philippines: Vulnerability, adaptation and mitigation. Journal of Environmental Science and Management, 11 (1), 1-14.

[28] Lonergan, Bernard. (2007). The Triune God: Systematics. University of Toronto Press.

[29] Martinez, Felicisimo. (1988). The mission of the Dominican order today. Philippiniana Sacra, 23 (67), 23-54. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55997/ps1002xxiii67a2

[30] Martos, Joseph. (1991). Doors to the sacred: A historical introduction to sacraments in the Catholic church. Triumph Books.

[31] McLaughlin, R.P. (2013). Thomas Aquinas’ eco-theological ethics of anthropocentric conservation. Horizons, 39 (1), 69-97. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0360966900008549 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0360966900008549

[32] Murray, Paul. (2013). Aquinas at prayer: The bible, mysticism and poetry. Bloomsbury.

[33] Oosthoek, J. & Gills, B., eds. (2008). The globalization of the environmental crisis. Routledge.

[34] Ocampo, L.M.A. (2023). The Salamanca Process as an Embodiment of Dominican Charism Today. Philippiniana Sacra, 58 (177), 491-514. doi: https://doi.org/10.55997/3002pslviii177a2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.55997/3002pslviii177a2

[35] Peracullo, Jeane. (2023). Is the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines turning dark green? Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines’ environmentalism from anti-mining to climate crisis response. International Journal of Practical Theology, 27 (1), 7-22. doi: https://doi.org/10.1515/ijpt-2021-0065 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/ijpt-2021-0065

[36] Ratzinger, Joseph (Benedict XVI). (2022). The Divine Project: Reflections on creation and church. Ignatius Press.

[37] Ripple, W. J., et al. (2017). World scientists’ warning to humanity: A second notice. BioScience 67 (12), 1026–28. https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/67/12/1026/4605229 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/bix125

[38] Ruddiman, W. F. (2005). How did humans first alter global climate? Scientific American, 292 (3), 34–41. Accessed through https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-did-humans-first-alte/ DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0305-46

[39] Schillebeeckx OP, Edward. (2014). World and Church. Bloomsbury.

[40] Second Vatican Council. (1965). Dei verbum: Dogmatic constitution on divine revelation. Accessed through https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_en.html

[41] Superio, M.D. & Abreo, N.A. (2020). Plastic in freshwater ecosystems: A looming crisis in the Philippines. Philippine Science Letters, 13 (1), 1-3.

[42] Tremlett, Paul-Francoise. (2013). The ancestral sensorium and the city: Reflections on religion, environmentalism, and citizenship in the Philippines. Handbook of contemporary animism (G. Harvey, ed.). Acumen.

[43] Waterman, A.M.C. (2017). Pope Francis on the environmental crisis. The Independent Review, 21 (3), 375-398.

[44] White, Lynn. (1967). The historical roots of our ecologic crisis. Science, 155 (3767), 1203-1207. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.155.3767.1203

[45] World Meteorological Organization (WMO). (2023). The global climate 2011-2020: A decade of accelerating climate change. WMO Publications Board. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18356/9789263113382

Ecological Crisis as a Moral Crisis: A Thomistic Reflection on Environmental Issues

Authors

DOI:

Keywords:

Abstract

References

Downloads

Published

Issue

Section

License

How to Cite

Make a Submission