Philosophy’s Central Role in Addressing Climate Change

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November 10, 2018
Literature Critique on Climate Change
Climate Change is undoubtedly one of the most talked about issues in the past century. The gradual yet constant increase in the overall temperature, rise in seawater levels, and the climb of our global carbon footprint that threatens life on earth has indeed made the issue an immediate one. In the article written by Scranton, he noted how this issue had become inevitable due to the actions of humankind. On the one hand, this elicits the idea of sadness as we realize that we have already reached a point of no return. A point where debates on whether our demise would come or not, and how to stop it has become trivial at most. On the other hand, his idea also has a surprising effect as we learn that the very thing that threatens the world was brought about by a single species - Us. Upon reflecting on his work, he noted how both of these facts had necessitated scholars to name the present era Anthropocene. An era where humans have not only changed earth’s biodiversity and climate, but also the very geography of our planet (Scranton). While most of these facts that have been written by Scranton are based from observable and empirical pieces of evidence, one of the critical ideas that I seem to found interesting is how he described philosophy’s function in addressing climate change. In the succeeding section of this article, Scranton’s belief about philosophy’s central role in addressing climate change would be discussed. This includes how we should think of our own mortality as well as his suggestions on how to move forward as a race. Nevertheless, I believe that despite Scranton’s assertion that we should embrace the idea of “already being dead”, what this really means is that we should focus on the future that will enable our future offspring to “live”.
Scranton has claimed that despite being an issue primarily concerned with natural sciences, the field of philosophy and humanities plays an essential role in order to resolve it. A notion that defies the common misconception that reflecting upon philosophical works from the past and meditation are much less needed than scientific innovations that tackle the issue directly. He also added that the philosophy’s main role in addressing the problem of climate change, is to make us reflect that we are “already dead.” This statement of his refers to the results of different research that indicates the imminent “collapse of the agricultural, shipping and energy networks upon which the global economy depends, a large-scale die-off in the biosphere”, as well as the possibility of our own extinction CITATION Scr13 \l 1033 (Scranton). In turn, this helps us think of others, including those who would come after us, and think altruistically about their future. Yet Scranton himself has said that “Civilizations have throughout history marched blindly towards disaster, because humans are wired to believe that tomorrow would be much like today.” In turn, this suggests that while the idea of devoting our lives for the sake of those who would come before us sounds like a noble cause, some might...