A Summary of Lynn White Jr’s "The Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis"

            The past is a sufficient starting point in learning from our mistakes, and it places ourselves in a position to not repeat these mistakes in the future. White argues that ideas which have permeated the belief that man has dominion over nature is deeply rooted in Christian ideology. Man’s transcendence over nature, therefore, is only a proliferation of an ideology that has contributed to the degradation of the natural world.

            “All forms of life modify their context,” is given as an example of the coral polyp which shapes the environment of the sea. Man has similarly shaped the environment: overgrazing, overhunting, and slash and burn agriculture are a few examples of humanity’s dominion over nature. The proliferation of science and technology as a tool to evaluate the natural world with theoretical and empirical approaches have rendered old ways of thinking obsolete when understanding how the world works. The traditions of technology and science derive most significantly from a western perspective. According to White, these movements achieved dominance during the Middle Ages—so when we delve back into our historical roots of science and technology, it is appropriate to examine “fundamental medieval assumptions and developments.” So what are these assumptions?

            How people react to their environment “depends on what they think about themselves in relation to things around them.” Nature became conditional to our beliefs and destiny, and no ideology put forth the idea of destiny greater than religion. Christian ideology inherited the concept of time and creation from the Book of Genesis, where God created man in his image; because of this belief, Christianity remains the most anthropocentric of all world religions. The dichotomy between man and nature reinforced the Christian belief which “insisted that it is God’s will that man exploit nature for his proper ends.” Natural theology scholars claim two positions: 1) because God gave man the bible, nature is symbolic of divine biblical texts, and 2) the effort to understand God’s mind is possible by seeing how he operates within his creation; thus, understanding nature is a comprehension of God’s divine work. Science and technology have been driven by some of these beliefs.

            White doubts whether more science and technology can rectify the plight of impending ecological disasters. What it will ultimately depend on is humanity’s relationship to nature. He argues that science and technology will not help the natural world unless we find a new religion or it evolves into something else. The parables of St. Francis shed light into White’s thoughts, for Francis preached humility and nature as “not merely for the individual but for man as a species.”

            White does not suggest we all live virtuous like St. Francis, but merely suggests that by realizing our connection to the natural world—as not separate, but a part of it—we can begin to curb these catastrophic changes that are taking place on a global scale. The ecological world will only worsen unless we reject the Christian axiom of man’s transcendence over nature.

Critical Thinking: What makes Saint Francis an appropriate candidate for the position of patron saint of ecology?

The belief that man has dominion over nature is deeply embedded within the biblical texts studied by theological scholars since the death of Christ. Where White has argued for a new way of thinking, of a religion evolved to incorporate all aspects of life, St. Francis had rejected the anthropocentric view of the bible in a time where he would be persecuted for his beliefs. St. Francis’s perception of the natural world is one that embraces all aspects of life, however small or big. His preachings is one of humility, not hubris. If humanity can embrace nature like St. Francis—regardless of beliefs, religions, and ideologies—the natural world would only prosper as mankind’s realizes his place in the cosmos.

Works Cited

White Jr., Lynn. “The Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis.” Sources: Selection in

                Environmental Studies. Ed. Thomas Easton. United States, 2014. 31-35.