1. Zhao Dunhua (Peking University) Iwate, Japan, 2007. 9. 1
Toward Ecological Rationality: Philosophical Education in China in the Face of Biosphere Crisis
Toward Ecological Rationality:
Philosophical Education in China in the Face of Biosphere Crisis
Zhao Dunhua (Peking University)
Iwate, Japan,

2. China has made impressive progress in the latest two decades.
Major diseases have been eradicated and life expectancy and standards of living have increased for most of people.
But the population has doubled since 1950s to more than 1.3 billion and will continue to grow for several decades, and the economy has increased more than 15-fold since 1980s.

3. This progress has had a wide-ranging impact on the environment.
It was noticed that the major environmental problem in 1990s was air and water pollutions.
Since the environment continues to be deteriorated quickly since then, China in the 21st century has to face a large-scale and long-term crisis – the biosphere crisis.

4. Our earth is a complex system of biosphere, in which humans are a significant and even the dominating environmental force.
Economical growth, as starting from the amplified manage of energy and natural resources, has significantly affected
atmospheric composition
land cover
marine ecosystems.

5. coastal zones
freshwater systems
biological diversity
food chain system
I have used the following picture in my class to illustrate the network of causalities for the biosphere crisis

7. The environmental crisis is a global one and not merely limited to China.
Nevertheless, it is particularly crucial and emergent for Chinese and the land they are living on.
This is so due to two reasons.

8. First, due to its largest population and high increasing rate of economical expansion in the world
China has been and will be one of the areas where the human driven force is radically altering the supporting system for human life
Accordingly, pushing the earth into a state potentially hostile to humans.

9. Secondly, China is concerned with its duty for the global environment and abides by the principle of sustainable development and environmental protection as the long term national policy.
In spite of this fact, many governmental, economical and technical decision-makers have not prepared to adopt or carry out the policy.
Public debates and criticisms have revealed that those leaders and elites, still less ordinary people, maintain a backward mentality.
They are incapable and impotent for them to deal with the ecological crisis at local, regional and national levels, still less working on international frameworks for addressing global change.

10. As a philosopher, I am concerned with the wisdom dealing with man and the world
Especially with a transformation of people’s mentality as required in the era of biosphere crisis.
Transformation is called for because the status quo of philosophy in China is far from meeting such requirement.

11. The current Chinese philosophy can be divided into three mainstreams
Marxism,
Traditional Chinese philosophy
Western philosophy.
As far as the relation between man and nature is concerned,
Marxism: productive rationality
Modern Western philosophy:instrumental rationality.

12. From practical point of view, philosophy has to transform itself in order to play an active and effective role on crucial issues for mankind.
The philosophical transformation should take its initial step in the educational reform.
For the purpose of dealing with biosphere crisis, philosophical education is to be changed from
ideological training,
personal cultivation,
accumulation of wisdom literatures,
To a new world view and value orientation.

13. The term “ecological rationality” : A new mentality.
Functions to direct people’s attitude toward environment
Letting them to think ecological problems rightly
And to live in biosphere happily.

14. The place of man in biosphere is equal to citizen in society.
Since the ancient time philosophers have worked out the ideal of world citizen under the natural law.
We should consider and evaluate our human being more broadly as biosphere citizen under an ecological covenant.
The biblical ideas of the stewardship of man in nature and the divine covenant might be the primordial modal of ecological rationality.

15. The idea of covenant prescribes both right and duty to partners, as constitution and law to citizens.
Similarly, just as citizens have to receive the constitutional education, man is to be educated to know about the ecological covenant
and to commit their right and duty in biosphere.

16. The overall commitment to right is
a series of right of opportunity for equal access to natural resources
and to modern information on environment
Right to create a decent life, including
Equal and real chances both for sufficiently satisfying, meaningful, reasonable remunerative and secure work
and for family, leisure and communit

17. The overall commitment to duty is a series of duty
responsible producer and consumer,
respect, sustain, manage and develop natural resources and environment for the interests of both human beings and all beings in biosphere.

18. The commitment to right and that to duty are interrelated in important ways.
One way is that fuller realization of right to access to natural resources and informational resources
leads to greater human empowerment.
Tthe greater empowerment breeds an enhanced greater duties for self-respect, for others and for the earth.
Such greater respect provides a firm psychological basis for a new sense of fairness, curiosity about nature
Openness to new atmospheres, appreciation for the past, and sensitivity to beauty.

19. Ecological rationality: strengthen our human character as the effective and responsible biosphere citizen.
We refuse to be defiled by heaven and earth: as implied in the accommodative rationality),
to be alienated by productive or consummative force: as needed for the productive rationality,
resisting to defile other beings in biosphere,
to manipulate or conquer nature: as required by the instrumental rationality).

20. This thereby gives us an opportunity in the Era of biosphere crisis to develop an ecological rationality that can help us navigate our everyday life.
Thank You Very Much