Collective Responsibility towards Nature and Future Generations

This research proposal aims at rethinking a collective and proactive concept of responsibility towards nature and future generations, on the basis of the understanding of nature developed by German Idealism in the early 19th century and the theory of responsibility first advanced by Hans Jonas in the 20th century. I will articulate my research into two steps, which aim at two objectives: 1) I will first work on the rational foundation of collective proactive responsibility towards the world in which we live, that is the duty to take care of it. This is the “objective side” of my research, in the sense that it grounds on a consideration of human beings as rational and responsible agents in themselves, in a Kantian sense. To reach this first objective (which is the most challenging one), a further step is needed: the elaboration of a concept of nature and its relation to human being able to take into account (1.1) the ontological continuity between nature and human being and with this the value of nature and life in themselves; (1.2) the primary responsibility of humans. All this will be possible analyzing and revitalizing the concept of nature in German Idealism and studying its ethical implications. 2) Second, I will investigate the role of human motivation, the context and the consequences of human action as essential part of any theory of responsibility. This is the “subjective side” of my research, that aims at providing the “bridge” between the formal foundation of the concept of collective responsibility and its application. In this part, my research will deal with the key concepts of “respect”, “care” towards vulnerable nature and future human beings, and “fear” of a collapse of nature and our future lives. The concept of collective responsibility generated by this project might show its fertility also with reference to contemporary debates (like those related to environmental issues).